Surviving The Storm
by AliceD2012
Summary: Alex and Jamie were an item in high school, but a choice that Alex makes separates them for years. Years later they meet again only to find their worlds colliding. Alex is now an 'a-list' actress in Hollywood , constantly swarmed by paparazzi and rumors. Jamie a motivational speaker who leads a humble life with her best friend. Will it be an easy reunion? Xena AU/alt uber
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters in this story are all mine. They do sort of resemble two characters we know and love. But still all mine.

 **Love/sex:** There will be that going around sooner or later. If you don't like it that's too bad.

 **Angst/hurt/comfort:** Yes I've put that in as well.

 **Violence:** some of that too.

This is my story that I've decided to post and finish to this site. Hope you enjoy it! Feedback is welcome!

 **Surviving the Storm**

 **By Alice D.**

 **May 19, 1997**

 **Orlando, Florida**

It was a sunny and breezy day for Alex Davenport and Jamie Johnson, but most importantly it was graduation day. The day they had all been waiting for, the day of freedom from homework and boring classes, and the day to leave High School behind. It was perfect for Alex because her parents and younger brother Bryan, by one year, were there to support her. Most importantly Jamie was there, the love of her life, smiling at Alex with perfectly straight teeth after getting her braces off that same year and the greenest eyes anyone could ever fall so deeply into. They met in their freshman year of High School at a house party and they had been together ever since. Always finding ways to be together and every year hoping they had the same classes together.

Alex Winked at Jamie with a crooked smile as they stood in two separate lines waiting to be called out onto the stage. Alex thought back to a letter she received in the mail last month from UCLA. She had been accepted into the university and had not told Jamie about it yet. She knew that today would be the day that she needed to tell Jamie about that letter and her plans to go to Los Angeles.

While she attended UCLA to study Astronomy she would pursue her dream of acting. Alex was in drama class through all four years of High School and it was something that she loved to do. She looked down at her hands and played with the platinum bracelet Jamie had given her on her birthday last year.

The High Schools' Vice Principal's voice finally spoke loudly into the mic to a roaring crowd of parents, family and friends. The speech lasted about five minutes and then she announced the seniors, their rehearsed cue to walk out onto the stage.

"Please welcome the Seniors of Galaxy High School!" From behind the curtains both lanes of student walked out, in their red and black gowns, to their seats in front of the stage. They waved back with smiles on their faces. Jamie faced the stage again and relaxed as the Principal started to speak. In alphabetical order, by last name, the line of students started to receive their diplomas. Alex's name was called and she walked onto the stage, her dark hair shining in the sun. She walked up to the Principal, shook his hand and faced the crowd with her diploma held high.

"Woohoo!" She yelled.

The crowd and her parents cheered for her. Jamie cheered with the crowd as well; Alex always knew how to get a crowd going. A few minutes later, it was Jamie walking onto the stage after her name was called by the Principal. The crowd clapped, her family cheered and after receiving the diploma could only stare at Alex. Alex blew her a kiss and continued to clap with the crowd. Jamie smiled and walked down the stairs back to her seat. This was the best day of her life and she was going to share it with Alex. Jamie played with the white gold band around her ring finger. She was happy high school was finally over.

After everyone had been given their diplomas all of the graduates were taking pictures with friends, and family. Jamie's parents each gave her a hug and took turns taking pictures. There was a tap on her shoulder and Jamie turned around to see Alex smiling with her arms open waiting for a hug. Jamie jumped into Alex's arms kissing Alex's neck.

"Congratulations!" Jamie whispered into her neck.

"You too, babe." Alex pulled away, looking into Jamie's eyes with a worried look.

Jamie cocked her head to the side in question. "What's wrong, why are you looking at me like that?"

Alex moved a strand of hair away from Jamie's eyes.

"Come on, I have to tell you something, but I don't want to say it here next to your parents."

Alex took Jamie's hand and they walked away from the crowd to some trees on the field in front of the school.

"Okay Alex, what do you have to tell me?" Jamie asked with an undercurrent of nervousness.

"I know I should have told you before," Alex paused, taking a breath, scared at what Jamie would say. "but… I got accepted to UCLA, and I'm going to be moving to Los Angeles to take classes." Alex was looking down at the grass the whole time and finally had the courage to look up into Jamie's eyes. She didn't like what she saw. She saw hurt and surprise.

Jamie covered her forehead with her hand, she didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to feel. She could only ask one question. "How long have you known about this Alex?" Jamie moved her arms, crossing them in front of her.

"Since last month. I'm so sorry Jamie I knew I should have told you." Alex moved forward to touch Jamie but Jamie pulled back.

"I thought we were going to go to the college here together, what ever happened to those plans?" Jamie's eyes started to water. She didn't know that Alex would keep something like this from her.

Alex saw the tears start to run down her face. She had never made Jamie cry and seeing her cry today because of her decision, scared Alex to death. Jamie brushed the tears away but they continued to fall. Alex moved towards Jamie again and grabbed her hands. Jamie didn't pull away this time, letting Alex take her hands in her own.

"I'm really sorry Jamie, but I need to do this. It's a perfect opportunity to study at UCLA and continue with acting in Hollywood. This could really show me so much more than what I know now…and I was going to tell you sooner but I wasn't sure I was going to take it—" Jamie cut Alex off mid sentence.

"So when you said you were going to UCF instead, was I just a back up plan if UCLA didn't accept you? Because that's what it sounds like to me. And if you knew all of this you should have just told me the truth Alex, just the truth." Jamie's tears were coming faster down her face and she was no longer looking up at Alex. Alex lifted Jamie's face up to look at her again. "Please don't cry; that's not what I was thinking at all Jamie. Fuck, I wish I would have told you when I knew for sure, and I'm sorry, I really am."

Jamie tucked her windblown hair behind her ears, her nose red and her eyes puffy. "So where does this leave us Alex?"

"We can still be together, I'll come visit at least once a month and during the holidays. We could make it work." There was a pause, Jamie's hands were still captured in Alex's. Jamie looked down at their intertwined fingers.

"I don't think that would work Alex, I don't think I could take that separation."

"We can do it Jamie, I know we can."

"No we can't! We've been together since freshman year, maybe this was just our High School first love that everyone talks about."

"You know we're not like that. It's so much more between you and me Jamie. You're so much more than that." Alex's voice cracked with pent up panic. She felt like she was losing everything. She didn't know it could go this wrong.

"You should have thought about that before keeping this from me." Jamie felt so tired and worn out, she looked at her hands in Alex's and removed them slowly. Alex looked at her now with tears in her eyes as well. Jamie slowly pulled the ring off of her finger.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, panicked.

"You should have this back." Jamie opened Alex's hand, placing the glistening ring in her palm.

"Please don't do this Jamie, you're so important to me." Alex cried openly, her shoulder shaking. Jamie was crying too, she looked towards her parents who were talking with other parents in the field.

"I just wish you were truthful with me from the very beginning Alex. I just feel left out. And you being so far away will not be the same as you being here with me. I don't think I'm strong enough to only have you every now and again. We had so many plans after we graduated. And you…threw them away in one decision." Jamie could only whisper now, mascara running down her face.

"I'll always love you Alex, I wish you the best."

Alex went to grab Jamie before she walked away.

"Don't do this! Please!"

"Let go of me Alex." Jamie cried.

"No!" Alex pulled Jamie to her, grabbed her face and kissed her lips; first softly, then more desperately. Jamie opened herself to Alex, loving the way Alex caressed her lips with her mouth. Alex pulled away from her mouth and hugged Jamie fiercely to her, crying loudly. "Please, please Jamie! I love you."

"Then don't go Alex, you can take the same classes here and study acting here!"

They looked into each others eyes, both quiet for only a moment.

"I can't Jamie."

Jamie removed herself from Alex's embrace, her body shaking. She knew this was the end. This time Alex didn't stop her as she walked away, back towards the crowd. Alex looked down at her palm and opened it, the ring laying there with the word 'forever' inscribed on the inside. A tear fell down onto her palm and she closed her fingers around the ring she had given Jamie to show her how much she loved her. Their relationship perfect until now. Four years were finished. They were over. Alex looked back up to the crowd, and spotted Jamie already with her parents. Jamie was clearly crying and talking to her mom and dad.

Jamie's mom took her hand as they walked to the parking lot to leave.

Alex Slipped the ring onto her own finger and touched the bracelet Jamie had given her.

"I love you Jamie." Alex whispered. She wiped her tear stained face and started her walk back to her own family. She didn't know how she was going to go through life without Jamie in it. Alex knew it was going to be a long year.

 **January 2009**

 **New York, New York**

A man dressed in a black Armani suit walked quickly down the hall of the large condo; the sun reflecting off short blonde hair as he passed the large windows. He held a manila folder in his hand that had a few papers sticking out. He reached, clear, glass doors that led to a contemporary designed office. In the middle of the large room was a silver and glass desk with many papers strewn across it. The man looked around the large room to the book cases then to the left where the fireplace was. There, sitting on one of the plush leather couches, was a woman with straight dark shoulder length hair, barely passing her shoulders. She had a glass of red wine in her right manicured hand. On her ring finger sat a platinum band reflecting the sunlight as she stared at the fireplace. The man walked to the couch slowly.

"Hey Alex? I have the information you needed."

Alex took another sip of her wine and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. She then stood up, stretching to her full height and turned around with a hint of a smile on her lips. He barely saw her smile anymore; only for the paparazzi but he knew it was all an act. The industry had taken a toll on Alex. She was known as a playgirl in Hollywood; not your run-of-the mill playgirl but an openly gay one. The 'a-list' star was also currently the highest paid actress in the business. In her early days she tried every drug she could get her hands on, and slept with as many women as she wanted to. Some even married to famous actors while they were with her. Once known as a home wrecker, she was now known as an internationally acclaimed six-time Oscar winner for leading and supporting roles.

Seeing her smile always made him happy. They had met in College when Alex found him sitting in the shade before class, crying about the break up with his then boyfriend.

 _August_

 _1999_

 _Alex was walking to her next class, a thick blue book in her left arm and a red backpack hanging over her right shoulder. She wasn't in a rush to get to her next class because she was on campus half an hour earlier than normal. Alex decided to study before class so she looked around the campus for somewhere to sit and read. She wanted to get out of the sun and decided to go sit in her usual spot, under a large tree at the front of the campus._

 _As she was walking to her normal spot she saw a man sitting there already. He was crouched with his knees folded up, leaning on them with his face buried in his hands. As she got closer she could hear the man softly sobbing, his shoulders shaking._

 _She decided to sit on the opposite side of the tree and dropped her backpack onto the ground as she sat on the grass. She opened the large blue book and started to read. Every ten seconds, it seemed, she would hear the man sob a little louder and then quiet down. After about five minutes of the same pattern Alex was curious, stood up, and walked around the tree._

" _Excuse me, are you okay?"_

 _He looked up at her, grey eyes red and swollen._

" _Yeah, I'm fine."_

 _Alex stood over him her head cocked to the side._

" _You don't seem fine."_

" _Okay, well, maybe I'm not but it's really not your concern."_

 _Alex squatted in front of him with her right hand out for him to shake._

" _My name is Alex."_

 _The man looked at her with curiosity, and shook her hand. Alex noticed the rainbow bracelet he was wearing had the name 'Todd' printed on it, as a well manicured hand closed around her own._

" _Steven."_

" _Did you and your boyfriend break up?" Steven looked at her and his eyes started to water up again. "Am I that obvious?"_

 _Alex smiled compassionately, "A little bit." She sat down next to him. Her eyes took on a far away look. "I understand how it feels when you want someone so bad and can't have them back."_

" _You do?"_

" _Yeah, I do." Alex looked ahead at the campus then back to Steven._

" _Want to talk about it?"_

 _Tears ran down Steven's face and he smiled sadly, "Sure."_

She consoled him and ever since then they had been great friends. Even now they stayed true to each other. He was her assistant after all.

"Great let me see." Alex motioned for the manila folder.

"I don't see why you want to get in contact with her Alex. She dumped you on your graduation." He turned to walk to the desk in the center of the room, scratching his head as he went.

Alex opened the folder and walked towards the desk as well.

"She didn't dump me Steven. I gave her no choice back then. She was heart broken, and I want another chance to see her and speak to her." She laid the contents onto the glass desk. There lay a picture of Jamie on an eight-by-ten poster reading 'Jamie Johnson, Motivational Speaker, January 3rd, 10:30pm, at the Convention Center.' Alex stared at the picture of Jamie. She still had dirty blonde hair; it was wavy and a little passed her shoulders. Her eyes staring with a look of confidence and a large smile on her face.

I've never forgotten about her Steven, I should have taken her with me, or at least fought harder to keep her. She was so good for me." Steven looked into Alex's eyes and they were distant, like she wasn't really in the room with him.

"Sweetie, you two were teenagers, young adults, things change, priorities change and I'm sure she understood that afterwards."

"I'm going to the convention center to see her tonight, I have to. Every time I try to see her something comes up, so clear my schedule for the whole night, I don't care." Alex put on her stoic face. Nothing could change her plans.

Steven took a step closer to her.

"But Alex you have to go on SNL tonight, you can't cancel that! You have to promote your movie!" He pointed to the large movie poster with Alex's face on it wearing an army helmet and battle ground behind her. The movie had taken two years to make and was already generating Oscar buzz.

"You can't _not_ promote 'The Soldiers'!" Steven's face was getting red.

Alex just stared at him with a serious look on her face.

She closed the manila folder and put her hands on Steven's shoulders. "That's why I have you Steven. I'm not backing out of this. I need to see her and tell her how sorry I am about letting her go. For Christ sake she's probably married to a nice lady or… man out there!"

"But Alex, she was your high school girlfriend." He pouted.

Alex turned and walked to her office doors.

"We were together for all four years of high school." Alex turned back to Steven as she opened the clear glass door, holding on to the silver handle that had her initials 'A.D.' inscribed in cursive into them.

"I still love her Steven. I just need to tell her that I'm sorry and I love her. Nothing's going to stop me. Now cancel my SNL appearance and get me a limo for tonight, or I fire you, got that?" She stared at him with cold blue eyes.

Steven just nodded. Waving his hand at her to go. She had fired him ten times already.

"Good." Alex turned and left, the door shutting behind her as she walked down the hallway leading to the family room of the large condo. Steven stared at the manila folder on the desk, pulling his Blackberry from his pocket.

"You better be worth all of this Jamie. He muttered as he dialed out.

Alex arrived in a black shiny limousine across the street from the convention center. She had her leather jacket on, dark blue jeans and her hair in a loose French braid. The door was opened for her and she stepped out onto the sidewalk. The convention center glowed under the night sky. Alex fingered the ring on her left hand and looked up at the building in front of her. It was time to face her past. Steven had gotten her a ticket to the seminar that Jamie was going to appear at. After reading the contents that were in the manila envelope, she found that Jamie was a speaker for Gay and Lesbian Rights in America.

She was one of many speakers that were at the convention center that night to speak about rights and the crises going on with gays and lesbians around the world.

Alex turned to her driver "Thanks Max, I'll be back in an hour or so."

Max nodded and smiled. "I'll be right here Alexandra."

Alex crossed the street to the convention center; she hoped nobody recognized her because she didn't want her time to look for Jamie to be wasted.

Alex reached the doors to the convention center, the cold air hitting her face from inside. All around her were tables with pamphlets and people behind them trying to sell gay cruises or advertising pride weekends in Palm Springs. A few eyes stared back at her longer than usual, obviously recognizing who she was. Alex smiled crookedly at them then stopped in a corner looking down at her ticket. The ticket read that Jamie would be speaking at 10:30pm. That would be in another thirty minutes and hopefully she would have enough time to find her before she got up to speak.

"Excuse me."

Alex looked up from the ticket at a young girl with a spiked, punk, hairstyle and a piercing on the left side of her lip that stood in front of her nervously playing with the studded bracelet on her wrist. Alex smiled crookedly at the shy looking rocker girl.

"Yes?"

"Um…yeah so I saw you walking in and wondered if I could have your autograph?"

The girl took out a magazine from her messenger bag hanging off of her left shoulder, and flipped the pages to an article with a large picture of Alex lounging on a brown leather couch. The girl handed the magazine to the actress and also handed her a black permanent Sharpie.

Alex smiled and nodded. She took the magazine and Sharpie. "Sure. What's your name?"

"It's Angela…I didn't know you were a guest speaker here today. Uh…this is actually, actually a coincidence that I even had that magazine with that article in it. You're like so fucking hot and awesome in all of your movies! I…I really can't wait until your new movie comes out with you playing a lesbian soldier in the army. I think that's great, you're like an icon man!" Angela moved her arms wildly while she spoke. Alex laughed and gave the autographed magazine back to Angela.

"Well, thank you, that's really flattering but I'm not a guest speaker. I'm actually here to see Jamie Johnson speak tonight."

Angela stuffed the Sharpie and magazine back into her messenger bag. "Oh yeah, we're all here to see her. She's like the main speaker at these things, you know I got her auto too, she signs at a table down the room there." Angela pointed towards the tables in the back. Alex followed her finger and smiled.

"Thank you so much Angela, it was nice meeting you." Alex left the rocker girl and turned to the tables in the back room. While walking to the back room she noticed people recognizing her and some even called to her for autographs and pictures. Alex denied them autographs while trying to reach her destination. Finally, she found the room for the speakers that night. They were signing autographs just as Angela described.

Then she saw her. She saw Jamie at one of the tables sitting next to another woman but Jamie was the only one signing for the line of women and men there.

Alex stopped to look over the crowd at Jamie and realized that she was just as beautiful as she was back in high school. Her hair was wavy and blonde past her shoulders, she was wearing a white and black striped tee with a gold necklace around her neck that was shining under the lights. She smiled every time a new fan walked up to the table, giving her compliments or just making small talk.

Alex's stomach did a nervous flip and suddenly she knew what she had to do. Alex looked to the right of Jamie's table and saw three men and a woman standing watch over the table. Alex walked towards them, her long legs making her strides wide and getting to them in five steps.

"Hello boys and…" Alex recognized the woman now with the three men. She looked a lot like Jamie's mom but older. "Mrs. Johnson?"

Old habits died hard she thought. Even after dating Jamie for all four years of high school she still made her call her 'Mrs. Johnson'. The woman looked at her with a large smile.

"Well if it isn't Alexandra Davenport! I haven't seen you in person since you left town all those years back. Wow, I can't believe you're here!" Jamie's mom walked over to her and gave her a hug. Alex was surprised at the reception by Jamie's mom but she hugged back anyway. The three men looked at both of them in question. Alex pulled away from the hug and looked at Jamie's mom.

"Mrs. Johnson—" She was cut off mid sentence.

"Call me Sandra dear, we're both adults here, now are you a speaker here today? Jamie didn't mention you at all. Well truthfully she hasn't mentioned you in years since going off to college." Sandra stopped to look at Alex's face and she saw how nervous she looked.

"Sandra, I came to talk to Jamie, and I really do need to speak with her…badly."

Alex turned to look at the line dying down at Jamie's table, and it was almost 10:30pm.

Sandra called to one of the men that was staring at them oddly. The man was tall and skinny wearing a tee shirt and blue jeans. He came up to them offering his hand to Alex to shake.

"Hello Ms. Davenport it's an honor to meet you."

Alex smiled, "Thank you."

Sandra gave the man a pat on the shoulder. "This is John Rose, he's Jamie's manager and organizes her time here. You'll want to speak with him dear."

Alex looked at John and smiled, "I really need to speak with Jamie, can you arrange that for me?" Her blue eyes met his brown ones with a challenge. John couldn't hold her gaze any longer and looked down then back up again with a smile. How could he resist the 'a-list' actress?

"Sure Ms. Davenport I'll let her know, but she's due to speak in about ten minutes and she usually likes to prepare, alone."

"Well, can you tell her that someone wants to speak with her in ten minutes but don't tell her who it is because I'm afraid she won't want to talk. Do that for me, okay John?"

John scratched his head, his eyebrows pulling together in thought. "What would make her not want to speak with you Ms. Davenport? You're one of the greatest actress's of our time."

Alex's eyes went cold again and back to John's. "We have a history John. Please do this for me." John smiled widely reaching into his pocket.

"Okay, well she's going to be in room thirty-two in about five minutes after she's done with this crowd. Here take this," He handed her a pass to wear around her neck that read 'VIP', "and knock three times, she'll let you in then."

Alex put the pass around her neck and looked back to Jamie and the woman at the table getting ready to head out.

"Who's that woman with her John?" John looked over Alex's shoulder and smiled.

"Oh that's her best friend Clarissa, they're always together."

Alex nodded and thanked whoever was listening that he didn't say girlfriend or wife.

When Alex turned again Jamie and Clarissa were gone.

"Okay Ms. Davenport, I'll see you later then?" John asked.

"Yes, thank you so much John, and call me Alex." She patted his shoulder before walking off in the direction that Jamie went.

John looked at Alex's back as she walked away and slapped his hand to his forehead. "Jamie is going to kill me!"

Meanwhile Alex was nervously twisting the VIP pass between her fingers as she followed the signs pointing the directions to the different rooms that were hidden in the back of the building. Alex was about to round the corner to rooms thirty through thirty-five when she heard a familiar laugh that was undoubtedly Jamie's.

She saw her and quickly stepped back around the corner listening for her to go into the room.

Jamie was obviously laughing at something Clarissa was telling her. Jamie turned to Clarissa and slapped her on the arm. "She was not openly staring at my boobs, you're crazy!"

"Yes she was. She introduced herself and said 'hello my name is uh uh' and then she was hypnotized or something. It was a very weird moment for me just sitting there. You didn't even notice did you? You never seem to notice when anyone is openly checking you out, but I guess that keeps me around huh."

"I keep you around because I love you Clarissa, you're my best friend and have been there for me through all of my bullshit." Jamie gave Clarissa a hug and kissed her softly on the cheek as they reached Jamie's room. "Okay, I have to go in now so go keep John busy or something, I'm sure my mom is driving him crazy."

Clarissa frowned as she let Jamie go and sighed, "Alright, I'll do that. And I'll be back to let you know when it's time to go speak. I think I'll grab a cup of coffee for John first. See you in a few minutes." Clarissa turned and walked down the hall.

"Okay, bye." Jamie opened the door to the room and closed it behind her with a soft click.

Alex, still around the corner, heard the entire exchange and was about to round the corner when Clarissa passed by her and they nearly slammed into each other. Alex automatically lowered her head and pretended to be scratching it to cover her face. Clarissa paused briefly, with a slight smile of amusement, at Alex's not-so-subtle attempt to cover her face. Alex was certain as Clarissa continued down the hall that she didn't recognize her.

Alex turned to make sure she was gone and finally stood outside of room thirty-two. She inhaled slowly as her heart started to pound quickly. Alex rubbed her hands on her leather jacket in a nervous gesture then fingered the ring on her left hand. She then exhaled and brought her right hand up to knock three times on the door. The knocks were loud to her ears and she heard Jamie call for her to come in.

"Come in Clarissa, wow you're back soon." Jamie was sitting in front of a mirror putting her hair in a ponytail as she heard the door open. Normally Clarissa came in loudly with some kind of raunchy joke but Jamie was surprised not to hear one so she turned around sliding the bangs away from her face.

" Your pretty quiet—"Jamie stopped what she was going to say and stared at the figure standing in the doorway. Her mouth opening and closing with words that wanted to come out but were frozen in her suddenly very dry throat.

Alex stood there, her hand still on the door handle as her bright blue eyes stared frightened into Jamie's eyes. She was frozen and didn't know what to say or do. Jamie and Alex just stared at each other in shock. Alex finally snapped out of her frozen state at the door and slowly closed it without turning her back to Jamie. Alex walked a step towards Jamie and a small smile appeared on the actress's face. Jamie was breathtaking in the bland small white room that only had a green couch sitting in the back corner with a wooden coffee table in front of it. The mirror was closer to the entrance of the room and Jamie occupied the chair there.

Alex put her hands in her pockets and quietly muttered only one word. "Hi" Alex kicked herself mentally. ' _Hi' you idiot, that's all you've got to say?_

Jamie quickly stood up from the chair feeling light headed. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Alex was there, standing in front of her after twelve years. Twelve years of not seeing each other since that bittersweet day on their graduation. She followed Alex's career throughout the years and saw how her name became a household item in the tabloids and magazines. But not once did she ever receive a call from this woman that she once loved with all of her heart. Did she even dare to say she still did love her? Alex was her first love and her everything. And now she was here, again.

Jamie covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes watering up but not crying.

"Oh my god. How did you...why...hi." She struggled for words and didn't know what to say. Alex tilted her head and smiled nervously. She took a few more steps that left her directly in front of Jamie.

She inhaled slowly and looked down into Jamie's eyes.

"I know the smart thing would have been to call and make some sort of appointment but I was afraid you wouldn't have talked to me. If you want me to leave, I will." Alex slowly took her hands out of her pockets and put them to her side.

"No, you don't have to leave. I'm just…very overwhelmed that you're here." Jamie looked down at her hands then up at Alex again. Her feet shuffled on the carpet as she took a step closer to Alex and awkwardly opened her arms to give her a hug. Jamie wanted one so badly.

"May I?" Alex's face lit up and she only nodded while she opened her own arms to give Jamie a hug. Jamie slid easily into the hug and tightly held onto Alex as she closed her eyes. Alex smelled good she thought. Alex firmly held Jamie to her and lowered her head to her hair. Alex started to stroke her back and they both stood there motionless for a while just relaxing in each other's embrace. Alex wanted this for many years. This was the only embrace she wanted to feel. Jamie let go first, her eyes red with the tears rolling down her cheeks. Alex saw the tears and started to cry herself. It seemed she still couldn't stand seeing Jamie cry.

"I'm sorry Alex." Jamie half smiled and wiped the tears with her hands.

"No, don't apologize." With that said, Alex's hand went to Jamie's face and wiped at a lone tear, as Jamie, breathing softly, looked up at Alex.

"Why are you here Alex?"

Alex knew that question would be asked and she would need to explain herself. The reunion over so quickly.

"I've been wanting to see you and talk to you about things. I guess I want to make things right between you and I. But most of all I really wanted to tell you how sorry I am for not keeping in touch with you even after how we left things. I...I also wanted to say that I still lo-" There were three knocks at the door that interrupted Alex. Jamie looked towards the door then back at Alex.

"One second okay? Don't move."

Jamie walked to the door and quickly wiped at her eyes before opening it. It was Clarissa standing outside of the door with a giant smile on her freckled face.

"Guess what I got for the fabulous lady! A latte and a...hey wait, are you crying?"

"Oh...no, I just have allergies." Jamie quickly responded.

"Oh, well, hey sweetie, I got you a latte and honey bun!" Clarissa said in a sing-song voice.

"Clarissa you know I don't drink coffee."

"I know that's why I got you the honey bun! And why are you hiding? Let me put these in the room for now while you're out there talking." Clarissa pushed open the door and saw Alex standing there with her hands in her pockets. "Oh my God, it's Alexandra Davenport!"

Alex awkwardly waved while Jamie closed the door behind Clarissa and rolled her eyes. She was about to start crying again.

"Clar, this is Alex. Alex, Clarissa." After introducing them, recognition hit and Clarissa knew which 'Alex' this was. It was the same 'Alex' that Jamie said broke her heart on her high school graduation day. Jamie never liked to talk much about her and never told her it was the actress Alexandra Davenport. She always mentioned her as just 'Alex'.

"Oh…my…gosh you're the 'Alex' that Jamie told me about? Who went to school with her and who broke her—"

"Okay, enough Clarissa. I think it's time for me to go out there now." Jamie looked at Alex with sadness.

Alex stared at Clarissa as she started to whisper quite loudly to Jamie.

"You were crying weren't you? Did she do something to you?" Clarissa said as she gave Alex a dirty look.

Alex shook her head slowly and gave Clarissa a cold stare and started walking to the door to leave. Jamie saw where Alex was going and ran to stop her. She grabbed Alex's arm and turned her. They stared at each other with a silent understanding of unfinished business. Jamie quickly went to her purse and pulled out a pen and piece of paper, giving it to Alex. Alex wrote down her number on it and handed back the sheet. "That's my cell Jamie. I'll be available whenever you want to talk again okay? It was really nice seeing you, you look really good."

She caressed Jamie's arm and turned to leave giving Clarissa one last icy glare. Jamie closed the door and was looking down at the sheet with the number on it. The handwriting was the same as when they were in high school passing letters to each other during class. Jamie wiped at more tears that started to flow. Alex still got to her whether she liked it or not.

"Hey don't cry, I'm sorry if I ruined anything." Clarissa came up to her and gave her a quick hug.

"It's okay."

Clarissa gave Jamie a napkin to wipe her tears, "You have to go speak sweetie."

"I know. What a mess." Jamie took a deep breath and tried to smile. "Alright I'm ready."

"Okay, good! Now you know we are so going to talk about what just happened afterward!"

"Clarissa! Please, just let it go for now." Jamie gave her a look that meant she was serious.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry, lets go."

She opened the door for Jamie and they walked down the hall towards the convention center stage area. Jamie didn't know how she would concentrate with Alex back in the mix but all she wanted to do was call that number and hear the voice that she used to know so well.

To be continued in Part 2.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** The characters and story are all mine. They do sort of resemble two characters we know and love. But still all mine. I don't like plagiarism so if I find out that you've done that with my story, I will hunt you down and send my pet dragon after you. Seriously though, play nice. Enjoy!

 **Love/sex:** There will be that going around sooner or later. If you don't like it, that's too bad.

 **Angst/hurt/comfort:** Yes I've put that in as well.

 **Violence:** some of that too.

If you want to contact me and tell me how much you are loving the story, please do!

Surviving the Storm

By Alice D.

With long strides, Alex walked down the hall and turned the corner leading to the main autograph room at the convention center. There seemed to be a larger crowd than before swarming around the main entrance to the building. Alex stopped and slid her fingers through her hair in frustration. As she walked closer, she saw that the crowd of people was actually a crowd of loud paparazzi.

"Great, just what I needed right now," she muttered under her breath. Alex was used to the paparazzi finding her anywhere she went, so she decided to deal with it, like always. She walked quickly towards the crowd, her face emotionless. Then all hell seemed to break loose as she heard her name being screamed from multiple people in the crowd. They surrounded her as she tried to get to the entrance, closing in on her like vultures ready to feast on a dead carcass. The bright flashes of the cameras lit up the area

like strobe lights in a club.

"Alexandra, how are you doing?!"

"Alexandra, are you here to promote your movie?!"

"How do you feel about gays in the army?!"

"You look beautiful tonight Alexandra. Wave to my camera!"

The flashes continued as she pushed through the crowd. Alex knew it was a stupid idea to come here without her bodyguard. The crowd seemed hot around her as she continued her way through to the entrance, bodies being pushed into her fighting to get a better picture. She finally reached the entrance and her arm was grabbed by Max, her limousine driver. Alex looked at him and smiled in relief. Max had moved the limousine to the front entrance of the building. He laughed as he looked at the expression on Alex's face.

"You didn't think I was going to let you walk across the street with those guys after you, did you?"

Alex turned her head and saw a mob of paparazzi trying to squeeze through the doors to reach her. They were always crazy when it came to Alex. Max quickly opened the limo door for Alex as she ducked into the dark interior of the limousine. He slammed the door behind him and ran around the vehicle, opened the driver side door and locked himself in. The engine roared to life as he pressed the 'push to start' button. Alex sat in the very rear of the vehicle looking out her blackened windows as the flashes continued to go off. _I guess they like taking pictures of my windows._ Alex smiled at the thought.

Alex pressed a button on the door and the mirrored barrier between her and Max lowered.

"Thanks for the help there Max. Looks like I really needed it."

Max looked into the rearview mirror as he drove down the brightly lit streets.

"Anything for you Alexandra." He smiled.

Alex laughed, stretching in the back seat.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

She looked up at Max and sighed with content. "Yes, I did actually." Alex smiled, taking off her jacket.

"That's good. I'm happy for you. Where to, Alexandra?"

Alex looked at the watch on her wrist and decided. It was only 11:30pm and she wanted to go to Steven's house. She wanted to tell him what happened at the convention center and how ecstatic she was of the possibility of seeing Jamie again.

 _I should have gotten her number so that I could call her. What if she never calls me? What if I just made a complete and total fool of myself by looking for her?_

"Hey, uh…Alex?"

Alex snapped out of her thoughts, her eyebrows together with worry.

"Oh, sorry. To Steven's house, Max."

Max nodded and drove on. Alex pressed the button on the door and the mirrored wall once again lifted up, leaving Alex alone with her thoughts of Jamie. _I still love her. Why am I doing this to myself? I've never wanted anyone before. Why now? Everyone loves me, but they don't love me for who I really am, do they?_

Alex looked out the window into the night. The city traffic was still very busy. They were stopped at a red traffic light while a large group of people crossed the street. Alex saw a couple holding hands and laughing, like they hadn't a care in the world.

 _I want to be happy. For once in my life, at least,_ she thought. They were driving through Times Square and on one of the large buildings was the movie poster for her film, lit up, glowing under the night sky. Alex once again found herself deep in her thoughts of the past, and what brought her to who she was today.

 **February, 2002**

 **Hollywood**

 _The mansion was filled with every 'A-list' star in Hollywood, it seemed. Everyone was dancing or drinking, and some were doing drugs. It was the party to be invited to and if you weren't invited, then you probably weren't one of the VIP's._

 _Alex walked down the marble center staircase with a smug look on her face. In one hand she held a cigarette and in the other, she held her Oscar trophy. It was an Oscar after-party and she was still in her Vera Wang gown. It was dark red, low cut in the back and hanging off of her shoulders in the front. She looked like a Greek Goddess. Alex brought the cigarette up to her mouth and inhaled, the smoke filling her lungs and leaving them as she slowly blew the smoke out. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and observed all of the people around her. She was looking for one person in particular, and she spotted her dancing with someone. Alex walked up to the woman and tapped her on the shoulder. The blonde woman turned around and smiled seductively at Alex. She started to sway slowly in front of Alex as she stepped closer to her. Her previous dance partner was already dancing with someone else._

" _How's it going Alexandra? This is a really great party. I love your home." The woman loosely wrapped her arms around Alex's neck. Alex never moved her hands from her sides as she swayed with her._

" _Thank you Cindy. So, where's your husband right now?" Alex looked into Cindy's eyes, smiling._

" _I don't know actually. Probably in the pool. He liked the idea that it was indoors, and warm."_

" _How long has he been gone?" They continued to sway to the music._

" _Not very long, five minutes maybe…why all the questions about my husband Alexandra?" Cindy smiled knowing very well why she was asking._

 _Alex put her cigarette out in a nearby ash tray and placed her Oscar on the same table as the ash tray. She turned around and took Cindy's hand, walking her through the crowd and up the staircase. As they reached the second floor, Alex led Cindy to the wooden double doors at the end of the hall. She opened them and closed the doors behind them._

 _Once inside, Alex pushed Cindy against the wall and found her mouth with her own. They were both breathing heavy as Cindy started to lower the straps on Alex's gown. Once the straps were lowered, the gown fell to the floor, leaving Alex with her lace bra and thong on. Alex grabbed Cindy to her, wrapping her arms around to the back of Cindy's dress. She unzipped the dress and slid it down Cindy's body. They both struggled to remove their underwear and once it was off, Alex turned Cindy to the king size bed in the center of the dimly lit room. She backed her up until Cindy landed on the bed, sitting upright with Alex between her legs. Alex's hands and mouth were all over Cindy. She roughly pushed Cindy down so that she was laying flat on the bed. Still between her legs, Alex lowered herself onto Cindy, their skin making full contact._

 _Cindy moaned loudly, arching herself into Alex. Her nails raked across Alex's back as Alex ground into her._

" _What if Ron comes up here to find me?" Cindy hotly whispered. Alex looked at Cindy and covered Cindy's mouth with her hand._

" _Shut up." Alex went back to licking and biting Cindy's neck. She lowered her hand between Cindy's thighs and found what she was looking for. Cindy was so wet for her. Alex stroked her heated center and Cindy started to moan louder. Alex liked the power she had over Cindy, she was so easy to entice._

 _They went at it for an hour and found themselves sweaty, tangled in the thick sheets. Cindy was sleeping next to her and snoring obnoxiously. Alex turned to look at her and thought about kicking her off the bed. She sat up and looked at her night table next to the bed. There was white powder in a line waiting just for her. Alex picked up the small glass pipe next to the powder, brought it to her nose and snorted it. Alex felt it immediately and turned back towards Cindy. She planted her feet against Cindy's back and pushed Cindy off of the bed. There was a squeal of surprise as she landed on the floor with a thud._

" _Get the fuck out Cindy!" Alex yelled, annoyed._

" _Why did you do that Alex?!" Cindy's hair was a mess as she glared at Alex._

" _Because I can. Now get your shit on and get out of my room!" Alex walked slowly to her closet and pulled on boxers and a T-shirt. She looked at Cindy as she struggled to get her dress back on. Alex walked out of her room and leaned on the railing as she walked down the stairs. The party was still going strong, music coming from everywhere. Everyone seemed drunk, and high, dancing in circles. Alex laughed loudly as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She walked into the main room, the strobe lights making her feel like she was in heaven. She walked up to Linda Jackson who also won earlier that night, and grabbed her around the waist. Linda laughed at Alex's antics, going along with her as Alex caressed her face._

" _You're beautiful." Alex proceeded to start making out with Linda, their tongues battling for control. Linda pulled back, looking into Alex's eyes._

" _You're high, aren't you?"_

" _Maybe. Come on, I know you want me."_

" _No, Alex, not like this."_

 _Alex cocked her head to the side and laughed mockingly._

" _It's okay Linda. You weren't very good in bed anyway."_

 _Linda pushed herself out of Alex's grasp and got lost in the gyrating crowd._

 _Alex stood there, staring at all of her friends. She bumped into Steven dancing and he grabbed her hand, spinning her around. The man he was dancing with handed her a pill. She took it out of his hand and without thought, placed it on her tongue. She continued to dance with Steven and his friend until she felt a tap on her shoulder._

 _Alex turned, her eyes half lidded and red. She felt a sting as a hand slapped her hard across her face._

" _You're a fucking bitch, Alex!" Cindy yelled over the music._

 _Alex laughed as she watched Cindy storm out of her house with her husband following behind, a look of confusion on his face._

 _Steven looked at Alex and yelled over the loud music, "What was that?"_

" _I fucked her. Guess she didn't enjoy it," Alex said, dazed._

" _You better watch yourself Alex." Steven yelled._

" _I know. I will." She put her hands in the air, swaying with the music and watched the ring on her finger sparkle under the lights as a tear ran slowly down her face._

Alex looked down at her hand, and at the ring on her finger. "How could I have wasted so many years doing nothing?" She asked herself as the limousine came to a complete stop in front of Steven's house. Max opened the door for Alex as she stepped out.

"Thanks Max, I'll be staying here tonight."

"Okay, call me when you need me."

Alex smiled, "I will."

Alex turned and walked up the stairs, digging into her pocket and grabbing the key to Steven's home. She unlocked the door, opening it and yelled.

"Steven! It's me, Alex! I have a lot of stuff to tell you my friend." Steven came prancing around the corner, a creamy white mask on his face.

"Oh yeah? Tell me everything."

The convention was finally over and it seemed like the night was endless. Throughout the entire time Jamie was on stage, all she could think about was Alex. Jamie had dreamt years ago that Alex would come looking for her, but that was years ago. When Alex had never come looking for her, she had given up hope and moved on. She attended the University of Central Florida for three years before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles with her girlfriend at the time.

That's how she met Clarissa, through her ex, Victoria. At the time, Victoria was a motivational speaker for teenagers and introduced Jamie into speaking up for something that she was passionate about. During their second year together, Victoria had become very jealous and possessive. She would always argue with Jamie regarding the places she had been or who she was with at the time. During one of their major arguments, Jamie left the house and drove to Clarissa's house to get away from Victoria. After hours of crying on Clarissa's shoulder, Jamie decided it was time to break up with her girlfriend. Jamie never loved Victoria as much as she had loved Alex. Alex never treated her badly and never spoke to her with words that were meant to intentionally hurt her. So when she broke up with Victoria, it was more of a relief than anything else.

Jamie and Clarissa stood on the curb and Clarissa hailed a taxi for them. As the taxi pulled up, they both got in and Clarissa gave the taxi driver the name of the hotel they were staying at. Clarissa then looked at Jamie, curiosity written all over her face.

"So are you going to call her?"

Jamie automatically looked down at her purse lying on her lap. She had folded the piece of paper and shoved it into it when Alex left. Jamie looked over to Clarissa and smiled.

"Yeah, I think I am, actually."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that your 'Alex' was Alexandra Davenport?" Clarissa turned more to face Jamie, leaning her head on the seat.

"I don't know. I think maybe because I wanted to believe that she was the same kind hearted person I knew in high school. Now everyone knows her as this spoiled playgirl that can get anything she wants when she wants it. I didn't want you to think I was easy or something." Jamie looked down at her hands nervously.

"Maybe she is the same person that you knew. Maybe the magazines paint her out to be something that she really isn't. It happens all the time you know. And by the way, I would not have thought you were easy. You're as hard and strong as a rock, for sure."

Jamie laughed and leaned her head back on the seat closing her eyes. "She looked beautiful, didn't she?"

"Yes she did. I almost had a heart attack when I saw her in the room with you. She looks just like she does in her movies. Graceful, yet dangerous. Was she always like that, Jamie?"

"No. When I saw her tonight, she seemed changed. It's still her, but it seems like she's sad. She was always graceful though. She said she wanted to tell me that she was sorry, and she was going to tell me something else, but you walked in."

"I'm sorry. How was I supposed to know she was in there? You normally don't allow anyone in unless they know 'the knock'."

"She knocked three times, Clar. How did she know to knock three times?"

"Maybe John told her. He's practically infatuated with her."

"You think so? Wait until I see him again. He knew who Alex was to me. I'm going to kill him."

Clarissa rolled her eyes and looked back at Jamie, "But are you seriously angry at him for letting her see you? You don't seem serious."

Jamie laughed and slapped Clarissa lightly on her arm. "No, I'm not serious. I'm happy I got to see Alex again. We have a lot to catch up on and I have a lot of questions to ask her."

"Okay ladies, here you go." The taxi stopped in front of the hotel. Jamie paid the driver and they both stepped out onto the sidewalk. They walked into the hotel and into the elevator to take them to the fourth floor.

"So are you going to call her tonight?" Clarissa broke the silence.

"Clar! Of course not. She's probably sleeping by now. Look at how late it is and I'm not going to wake her up."

The elevator doors opened to their floor and they walked down the hall to their room. Jamie opened the door, which lead to a large elegant room. She sighed, closing and locking the door behind them. "I'm so tired, I think as soon as my head hits the pillow I'll be gone."

"Jamie, you deserve to sleep for days after a night like tonight. Hey do you think your mom minds sharing a room with John?"

Jamie looked at Clarissa from the bathroom mirror as she changed into her pajamas.

"No, I don't think so. I haven't heard any complaints about it yet. She loves John. He's like a son to her." Jamie turned off the light in the bathroom and came out in pink boy

shorts and a white tee. "She probably knew Alex was there before I knew, too. She and John were probably in this together."

Clarissa turned to the other room that was separated from the rest of the suite by a sliding wooden door. "Maybe. Who knows? Anyway I need to get my beauty rest, see you in the morning."

"Okay. Goodnight."

The door slid shut behind Clarissa and Jamie laid down on the fluffy king size mattress. She quickly rolled over and turned off the light next to the bed. Jamie slid under the sheets and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. _I can't believe she found me. After all these years, she finally decided to show up. I don't even know what to think._ Jamie stretched and the memories of when they first met ran through her thoughts.

"That was such a long time ago," she whispered to herself.

 **October, 1993**

 **Orlando, FL**

 _Walking outside the house, you could hear the music blasting inside. It was ten o'clock and the parents of the kid who was throwing the party were obviously not home. Jamie walked onto the lawn with her two girlfriends next to her._

" _I don't really want to go to this party, guys. We weren't even invited," Jamie said. Her friends stopped, and looked at each other. Stephanie looked at Jamie like she was crazy._

" _Michael, the really cute senior, is the one throwing it. He won't notice us in there. Look at all the cars that are parked here." Stephanie said._

" _Yeah," Lindsay agreed. They continued to stare at Jamie._

" _Okay fine, but if we get kicked out I'm never talking to you guys again." Both girls rolled their eyes at Jamie and continued to walk to the front door. Before reaching the door, a guy with a girl hanging off of his arm and a beer can in the other, opened it. They were both laughing hysterically and walked out past Jamie and her friends. The three continued to stare and then looked at each other. Stephanie walked in first, with Lindsay behind her and Jamie coming in last. Jamie slammed the door behind her, gazing at her surroundings. The music was so loud inside she could barely hear her own thoughts. The lyrics of 'All That She Wants' by Ace of Base sounded loudly throughout the home. There were people dancing everywhere from what she could see. The normal lights were all turned off and there were black lights everywhere. Strobe lights made everyone seem like they were moving in slow motion. Jamie already wanted to go home. She had already lost Stephanie and Lindsay in the crowd. The house was warm inside from all the bodies squeezed into one space and Jamie was thirsty. She spotted a table by the wall that had a giant punch bowl on it with liquid inside. She grabbed a cup from the table and poured herself some of the drink._

 _Jamie brought the cup up to her lips and took a sip. Once the liquid rolled down her throat, she gagged. She coughed and wiped her mouth from the awful, strong taste of whatever was in that cup. Jamie placed the cup on the table and walked to a set of glass doors leading outside. She bumped into everyone as she tried to get to them. When she finally reached the doors, she pushed herself out and felt relieved when she felt the cool breeze hit her face. She had reached the back yard that had a brown privacy fence around it and lanterns lighting up the patio. There were people sitting on the grass talking or drinking and some were couples making out on the lawn. Jamie looked to her left and saw a table she could sit at but someone was already there. A girl with dark black hair was there relaxing with her eyes closed and her feet propped on another chair. Jamie walked towards the table and looked at the girl._

" _Excuse me," Jamie said softly. The dark haired girl opened her eyes and turned her head at the voice. Jamie smiled and waved. The girl looked up at her and smiled back, the lantern lights reflecting off of her eyes, making them look violet._

" _Hey."_

" _I'm sorry to bother you, but can I sit here?" Jamie shuffled nervously. The girl smiled and stood up, dragging the chair her feet were on next to Jamie so that she could sit down._

" _No, it's okay. You're not bothering me." She watched as Jamie sat down on the chair and cross her legs, resting her hands on her lap. The girl held her hand out to Jamie and spoke softly._

" _My name is Alex. What's yours?" Jamie shook her hand, Alex had very soft hands she thought._

" _Uh…Jamie." They were still holding hands._

" _Nice to meet you. Jamie. You okay? You seem uncomfortable." Alex loosened her hand from Jamie's. She looked into Jamie's eyes and noticed how they seemed to stare right into her and yet seem so vulnerable._

" _I'm okay. My friends just dragged me here and I really didn't want to come. And on top of that, I'm thirsty and what they have in there doesn't taste very good."_

 _Alex took the cup she had and slid it to Jamie. Jamie looked at the cup cautiously and back at Alex._

" _It doesn't have any alcohol in it, or anything else. It's Coke. You can have it if you want." Jamie looked at Alex closely with a slight smile on her face._

" _How do I know that, Alex?" Alex gave Jamie a serious look._

" _Trust me. Go on."_

" _No thanks. I'm fine, Alex, really. I'll just wait until I go home."_

 _Alex shook her head and stared at Jamie. She stood up, walked over to Jamie and extended her hand to her. "Come on."_

 _Jamie automatically took her hand and was pulled up from the chair. Alex held her hand firmly and opened the glass doors leading back into the house. Once inside, Alex held Jamie by her waist, keeping her close to her as they walked through the crowd._

" _Where are we going, Alex?"_

" _Just stay close, okay?" She spoke into Jamie's ear, over the music. After squeezing through all the bodies, they reached a kitchen across from the living room. Alex turned on the light to the kitchen and let go of Jamie. Alex walked to the fridge and opened it._

" _What would you like to drink, Jamie?"_

" _How did you know where the kitchen was?"_

" _This is my cousin's house." Alex took out a liter of coke and a gallon of water, placing them on the counter._

" _Your cousin is Michael?" Jamie asked as she walked up to Alex. Alex looked at her and nodded._

" _He's my cousin when he's not being a douche bag." She smiled at Jamie and pointed to both drinks._

" _Oh, water is fine."_

 _Alex poured a glass for Jamie and handed her the cup. She took the glass from Alex's hand, their fingers brushing softly. Alex contemplated Jamie as she drank greedily from the glass. When Jamie was done, she handed the cup back to Alex and smiled._

" _Thanks. I guess I was pretty thirsty."_

 _Alex put everything back into the fridge and turned back to Jamie. They stood there staring at each other._

" _You have a very pretty smile Jamie." That comment made Jamie smile even wider, and she looked down, nervous._

" _Thank you."_

" _You're welcome." Alex looked up at Jamie's hair and noticed a leaf hanging from a strand. She walked up closer to Jamie, their faces a few inches apart. Jamie looked up at Alex's face, looking into her eyes._

" _What?"_

" _You have a leaf on your hair." Alex giggled and removed the leaf, showing it to Jamie._

" _See," She showed the leaf to Jamie then let it fall to the floor. "I just noticed it now."_

 _They were still inches apart from each other, staring into each other's eyes, their breath mingling as all thoughts seized. Jamie looked down at her hands as Alex intertwined them with her own. Alex tugged Jamie closer to her and whispered in her ear._

" _Do you want to go out back again and look at the stars?" Alex looked back into Jamie's eyes. There was a few seconds of a pause, then Jamie nodded._

" _Yeah, I'd like that."_

" _Cool. Lets go." Alex once again took Jamie by the waist and led her outside through the crowd. They found their own area of grass to lie down on and both looked at the stars together. Alex taught Jamie a few things she didn't know and Jamie was enjoying it. They stayed there for a few hours talking, and whenever Alex would point to a constellation, Jamie stared at her in wonder, loving the soft tones of her voice. For the first time ever in her life, Jamie had an attraction, and it was to a girl named Alex._

Jamie turned in the bed and looked at the clock. It read two o'clock in big red numbers. "I wanted to kiss you so badly that night," Jamie whispered to no one. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The early morning sun was shining through the hotel windows and was shining directly onto Jamie's face. She was curled on her side hugging a pillow and the sheets were sprawled on the floor. She stretched and turned facing the clock. It was still very early and she knew Clarissa would probably stay sleeping for another hour or two. Jamie stretched once last time and slowly sat up. She stood up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and saw how red her eyes were from the lack of sleep during the night.

Jamie turned on the sink and splashed water over her face and gasped at the coldness, but figured it would help with waking her up. After she was finished, she brushed her teeth and tied her hair up into a loose ponytail. Jamie walked back into the room and to her purse that was sitting on the table. She opened it and found the piece of paper Alex had written her number on. _I wonder if she's up right now,_ Jamie thought. She grabbed her phone and walked back to the bed sitting down. Jamie unfolded the paper and stared at it nervously. The numbers seemed to mock her as she stared at them. It was almost as if they were daring her to dial them on her phone. Jamie took a deep breath and started to dial the number. She put the phone to her ear and listened as it began to ring…and ring…and ring.

 _Maybe she's changed her mind,_ Jamie thought just as the line was answered. She would have recognized Alex's voice anywhere and it sounded as if she had woken her up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Alex. It's me, Jamie."

"Hi Jamie! I didn't expect you to call me. It's good to hear from you."

Jamie smiled and laid back. "I'm sorry if I woke you. Did I wake you?"

There were shuffling noises on Alex's end before she spoke again. "No, it's okay. I was going to get up soon anyway."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes and I was going to grab some breakfast. I'm at my assistant's house now and he doesn't have a cook, so I'm on my own."

"You have a cook, Alex?"

"I'm ashamed to say it, but I do. I can't really cook." Alex laughed softly.

"I remember actually. Like when you tried to prepare a dinner for my 17th birthday at your parent's house. You almost set the house on fire." Jamie and Alex both laughed at the memory and then there was silence on the other line. Alex finally spoke up.

"Would you like to go to breakfast with me?"

Jamie was excited that Alex had asked. She wanted to talk more with Alex, but face to face.

"Sure, I'd like that."

"Great! Where do you live? I can have my driver go and pick you up."

"Well, I don't live here. I'm staying at a hotel in Manhattan. I'll be here for two more days."

"Oh…okay," Alex sounded disappointed to Jamie, "What hotel are you at? My driver can pick you up and we can catch up and talk about things."

"That sounds perfect." Jamie gave Alex the address, and once she was off of the phone she ran into the bathroom. Jamie removed her clothes and jumped into a hot shower. Once finished, she quickly got dressed and put on her makeup.

"Hey where are you off to?"

Jamie looked up and saw Clarissa staring at her. Clarissa's hair was disheveled and her t-shirt was twisted around her waist. Jamie continued to brush her hair while Clarissa walked up to her and grabbed the paper that Alex wrote her number on.

"You called Alex?"

"Yeah she's going to have her driver pick me up in a few minutes."

"Her driver? Where are you going?"

"I don't know. We're going to breakfast somewhere."

"Breakfast 'somewhere'? Can I tell you that I'm a little bit jealous?" Clarissa pouted.

"Don't be jealous. I'm sure my mom and John would love your company today."

"Yeah I guess. What did Alex tell you when you called her?"

"She sounded happy to hear from me. But I think I woke her up."

"I bet she was happy. I hope you guys talk more about why she decided to _all of a sudden_ show up."

"Me too."

There was a knock at the door and Jamie pulled her purse over her shoulder. "That's probably her driver now." Jamie walked to the door and opened it. Jamie was surprised to see not Alex's driver, but Alex herself standing at the door. She was wearing a long black coat and scarf hanging around her neck. Alex took off the dark glasses she was wearing and smiled.

"Oh my God!" Clarissa yelled, from inside the room.

Jamie and Alex turned to see Clarissa running to the bathroom covering her face with her hands. Jamie turned back to Alex, "She's very surprised to see you, I think…in her pajamas."

Alex nervously played with the glasses in her hands, grinning. Alex looked Jamie up and down. "I think you're going to want to put on a coat. It's pretty cold outside."

Jamie looked down at herself, nodding. "Right," She quickly grabbed her coat that was folded over a chair and put it on, buttoning the front.

"Okay. I'm all set."

"Do you have a scarf, Jamie?"

"No. I didn't bring one."

Alex took off the scarf that was around her own shoulders and walked up to Jamie, "Here you go. Take this," Alex put the scarf around Jamie's neck and tied it for her. "There you go. You'll be nice and warm now."

Jamie looked up into Alex's blue eyes and was mesmerized by how compassionate Alex was being to her.

"Thanks Alex."

"You're very welcome." Alex smiled at Jamie and offered her arm. Jamie looked down and linked her arm into Alex's. Jamie looked up again at her and noticed that Alex's sun glasses were back on.

"I was thinking we could have a nice breakfast at my home. Would you like that, Jamie?"

"I think that sounds great."

"Good. Lets go." Alex led Jamie out of the hotel room and Jamie closed the door behind them. They walked quietly down the hall and waited in front of the elevator doors. Alex and Jamie's arms were still linked as the doors opened. They both walked in and Jamie pressed the button for the first floor. Alex knew that paparazzi would be waiting for her downstairs and she wanted to warn Jamie.

"How do you feel about cameras Jamie?"

"Cameras? What do you-" Jamie was interrupted as the doors opened to the first floor lobby and a man came running up to them, a long camera pointed at their faces. Jamie was surprised as the flash went off. She felt Alex's arm loosen around her own and slide around her waist. Alex held Jamie firmly to her as she led Jamie out of the elevator.

"Don't worry about them Jamie. Just hold on to me."

There were about ten paparazzi in the hotel lobby, snapping away. Alex and Jamie walked slowly passed them to the doors leading outside. Alex smiled, waving at the men.

"What brings you here today Alexandra?" One of them asked as he followed her with his camera. "Who's the pretty lady?"

Alexandra laughed and shook her head at his questions, as if she was really going to answer him truthfully.

"Now, why should I answer that? What's your name?" Alex asked.

"Leo."

"Leo shouldn't you be chasing the Twilight cast or something?" Alex heard Jamie laugh next to her.

"You're much more interesting Alexandra." He continued to snap pictures of Alex and Jamie walking out of the hotel and to the waiting vehicle.

Once outside, Alex walked Jamie to her car that was parked by the curb. It was a black SUV with black tinted windows. Max stepped out opening the door for both women. Alex let Jamie enter the car first as Alex followed behind her. Max closed the door, separating them from the mob outside. Alex looked at Jamie who was staring outside at the crowd.

"Sorry about that, Jamie. I meant to warn you."

Jamie looked at Alex and smiled, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Do you have to deal with them everyday?"

"Yeah, it comes with the territory. There's nothing I can do." Alex continued to stare at Jamie. She couldn't believe Jamie was next to her, and talking to her. Jamie was as beautiful as ever. Jamie noticed Alex staring at her and cocked her head to the side in question. "What?"

"It's nothing. I'm just happy you're here."

"I'm happy too, Alex. But we have a lot to talk about."

Alex nodded in agreement, "We do."

Max looked back at them through the rearview mirror, his thoughts elsewhere as he drove. _Wait until Cindy hears about this. She's not going to be happy at all._

To be continued in part 3


	3. Chapter 3

Jamie looked out of the tinted window as the vehicle stopped outside of a tall building that looked to be made out of nothing but glass and steel. They had reached Alex's home to have breakfast and Jamie was nervous and a little bit intimidated.

Max opened the door for both women and Alex got out first, turning to offer her hand for Jamie to take. Jamie held Alex's hand as she jumped out of the SUV and looked up at the building.

"Wow! Is this where you live, Alex?" Jamie asked with amazement.

Alex laughed at the question, nodding. "Yes this is my home while I'm in New York," She turned to Max, "Thanks Max. I'll give you a call if I need you."

Max smiled and walked back into the car, closing the door behind him. He watched as Alex led Jamie into the building. He noticed during the ride how Alex would look at Jamie and speak to her softly. He also noticed how Alex handled Jamie as if any rushed movements would break her. In the past Alex had never treated her conquests so gently. Max had a feeling that Alex cared deeply for the girl and he needed to pass that information on. He drove out of the gated entrance, drowning in his thoughts of what he needed to do.

As Alex and Jamie walked inside of the building, they were greeted by the doorman.

"Good morning, Alexandra."

"Good morning to you, Julian." They walked through a large immaculate lobby with beautiful floor to ceiling glass murals of a sepia tinted forest on the walls that made the place seem warm and comforting. A large fireplace was situated in the middle of the lobby behind glass and it was burning, casting shadows around it.

Alex led Jamie to the elevators, stopping in front of large silver doors.

"This place is beautiful, Alex."

Alex smiled at Jamie and led her into the elevator as it opened. "Yeah it really is. It's very peaceful here." Alex pressed the button that had the number forty-two on it. There was only a lobby button, emergency button and a floor button and Jamie found it odd.

"It seems like it. So, why is there only one floor button in this elevator?"

"This is my elevator. It leads up to the penthouse, which are floors forty-two, forty-three and forty-four."

Jamie was amazed. "So your house is three floors of this building? That's amazing! I've never been in anything like it actually. You said this was your house when you're in New York. Do you have a home somewhere else?"

Alex loved the look of amazement on Jamie's face. She rarely saw that anymore in the industry she was in. Everyone always seemed so numb and non-chalant about everything they came in contact with.

"I do. I also have a house in the Hollywood hills and that's where I spend most of my time. I'm just here for a while promoting 'The Soldiers' and then I'll be back in California promoting it there with the cast."

Jamie nodded, remembering the trailer that she saw recently on TV. "That's right. You do have that movie coming out soon. You know, Alex, I always knew you would become something great. I'm really proud of you."

Alex smiled and looked into Jamie's eyes. Their eyes held for a moment but Alex looked away first. She wanted to give Jamie a hug and hold her like they did the night before. Alex resisted the urge and placed her hands into her coat pockets.

The elevator stopped and opened on Alex's floor. It opened to a long hallway with large, brushed silver double doors.

"Well, here we are." Alex took a card out of her pocket and slid it through a slot that blinked a green light when she removed it. The door made a clicking sound and Alex opened it, letting Jamie in first.

Jamie looked around and the first thing she noticed was all of the art on the walls. The second thing she noticed were the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. Alex closed the door behind her and stood still, contemplating Jamie. She smiled at Jamie who stood frozen just taking in her surroundings.

Alex walked up to Jamie, lightly caressing her shoulder. "Let me get your coat for you." Jamie proceeded to remove the scarf and coat she was wearing, and handed them to Alex. Alex removed her coat as well and hung them in a closet that was next to the entrance. She closed the closet door and turned back towards Jamie. "Do you like it?"

Jamie turned to look at Alex. "Do I like it?" Jamie laughed "This place is beautiful!"

Alex intertwined their hands as she led Jamie towards the back of the house. They reached an open area with a marble island in the middle and Jamie saw what looked to be a chef cooking in Alex's kitchen.

"It smells good in here, Brian. How long until it's finished?" Alex asked, still holding onto Jamie's hand.

Brian looked up as he flipped a pancake on the large chef style stove.

"Five minutes, Ms. Davenport."

"Great! We're starving." Alex walked Jamie to the dining area that was surrounded by large windows overlooking another part of the city. Alex pulled a chair out for Jamie and walked around to sit across from her. There were plates and silverware situated in front of them while they waited.

As they sat and waited, Jamie fidgeted nervously in her seat. Alex looked at the watch on her wrist and took a quick glace at Jamie. Alex didn't know where to start the 'talk' that they needed to have. She guessed that she should explain as best as she knew how. She glanced at Jamie again and noticed Jamie staring at her too.

"Jamie…I hope you aren't uncomfortable being here…with me."

"Truthfully, I'm a little nervous."

"I understand. It's been so many years since we've actually been in the same room hasn't it?"

Jamie nodded, feeling a little awkward. "It has, and I'm curious to know why you wanted to see me. Why now?"

Alex inhaled and exhaled slowly, rubbing her hands back and forth on her pants, nervous. She looked straight into Jamie's sparkling green eyes that were currently absorbing the morning sun, making them look brighter.

"I've been thinking about you for years Jamie. After we broke up that day I've never stopped thinking about you. My life in the past few years has been hectic and I've wanted to contact you and see how you were doing, but things always got in the way. I was associating myself with the wrong crowd for a very long time and got into a lot of trouble. You probably heard it on the news or in the magazines."

Jamie nodded slightly. "I have, but I never wanted to believe any of that was true."

Alex smiled "You're still looking for the good in everyone, Jamie?"

"I do." Jamie spoke softly.

Just then the chef came into the dining room rolling a cart with multiple plates and drinks on it. He stopped at the table and placed each plate onto it. The food ranged from different fruits to pancakes, scrambled eggs, Belgian waffles, toast and every breakfast item Jamie could think of.

Jamie looked at all of the food on the table then back to Alex and laughed.

"Are your breakfasts always this grand, Alex?"

Alex placed a pancake onto her plate and laughed with Jamie. "No not really. I just didn't know what you would want so I told Brian to make everything. I called him before I got to your hotel."

"What if I had said no about coming to have breakfast here?"

Alex poured orange juice for herself and Jamie. "I had faith that you wouldn't say no."

Jamie just smiled and shook her head. She grabbed a pancake with her fork and put it on her plate with some bacon. Jamie took a bite of her pancake and closed her eyes in pleasure. _Banana pancakes,_ "Alex, you remembered." She opened her eyes, staring at Alex.

Alex had a grin on her face. "Of course, how could I forget banana pancakes were your favorite?"

"This is really good." Jamie said pointing to her food with her fork.

Alex took a sip of her orange juice. "I knew you would like it."

After that both women ate in silence, enjoying the company of the other. Jamie finished first and stretched. "Thank you so much for the breakfast, Alex. I enjoyed it."

"You're welcome Jamie. Hey would you like to go out onto the terrace and look at the city?" Alex asked.

"Yeah sure." Jamie and Alex both got up from the table and Jamie followed Alex to a pair of glass doors leading outside. The terrace wrapped half way around the condo and gave both women an unobstructed view of the city skyline. The silver and glass railings the only obstacle blocking the edge.

"This is beautiful, Alex. If I lived here I would never leave."

"Sometimes I don't want to." They both walked to the edge and Alex leaned on the railing, looking out towards the city. Alex seemed more melancholy now as she looked down at the cars below. Jamie stood next to her, not fully leaning on the rail, but her hands resting on the clear glass. Jamie was about to speak, when Alex started to speak first.

"Jamie I hope you know I never meant to hurt you all those years ago," At this Alex turned to face Jamie who's face looked surprised at her apology. "I know that we made promises to each other to go to the same college together… and I broke that promise. All these years that's all I've thought about. The 'What could have been' always goes through my mind. I'm always surrounded by so many people but I still feel alone. You were good for me, Jamie."

Jamie looked into Alex's eyes and saw the sorrow in them. Jamie's eyes started to water as she remembered that day so many years ago, and the anger came back. "Why didn't you ever try to contact me then, if all you thought about was me?"

Alex stood up straighter at Jamie's outburst. "I was scared. With the way we left things would you have really wanted to speak to me? I figured you would have forgotten about me and moved on."

"How could I forget about you, Alex? We were together for four years. You don't just forget about things like that. One day I saw you in your first movie and one of my friends thought I was crazy because I left the theater. That was the first time I saw your face since high school graduation. I couldn't watch you without thinking about how much I still loved you and wondering if you ever thought of me."

Tears ran down Jamie's face and she wiped them away quickly, not wanting Alex to see her like that. Alex stepped closer to Jamie and held her face in her hands, brushing the stray tears that continued to fall with her thumbs.

"Sweetheart…I thought about you all the time. My life hasn't been perfect since you walked away that day on the field. Everything has just been crazy these past couple of years. What has been said about me on the news is mostly all true, but that was me in the past and I don't want it to scare you away," Jamie held the hands that were caressing her face "I really just wanted to tell you that I still…that I still love you, Jamie. I wanted to know if you wanted to start over…get to know each other all over again?"

The cold wind blew as they both stood there staring at each other. Jamie looked down and removed Alex's hand from her face. She held Alex's hands in her own, caressing the familiar fingers, turning the hands over and lightly touching Alex's wrists. Alex rested her forehead on Jamie's hair, taking in the scent of her. As Jamie intertwined their fingers she saw the ring on Alex's right ring finger sparkling in the morning sun. Jamie brought it up to her face and smiled as tears once again ran down her cheeks.

Jamie looked up at Alex "Is this—" She was cut off by Alex, her voice cracking.

"It's the ring I gave to you. I've been wearing it since you gave it back to me. I never take it off."

Jamie saw Alex's crystal blue eyes shed tears and Jamie softly caught them with her fingers. Alex was surprised when Jamie pressed her body into her and embraced her, laying her head on Alex's shoulder. Her arms wrapped around Jamie's waist as they continued to embrace on the terrace, the wind blowing through Alex's hair. Jamie pulled slightly away from Alex, her arms still around Alex's neck. Then Jamie slowly raised herself to Alex's lips and softly kissed her.

Alex felt Jamie's lips caress her own and almost melted where she stood. No one else had ever made her feel this way. Jamie wanted more and slid her tongue over Alex's lips, seeking entrance. Alex welcomed the warmth and stroked Jamie's tongue with her own. Jamie moaned softly into Alex's mouth pressing even closer to the tall woman's body. Alex squeezed Jamie to her as if her life depended on it as they continued to kiss. Jamie brought her hands down over Alex's shoulders and then lower, lightly caressing her breasts. This time it was Alex's turn to moan and she slowly pulled away from Jamie's lips that were red and already swollen. They were both breathing heavily as Jamie rested her forehead under Alex's chin, her hands still lightly caressing Alex's breasts. Alex lifted Jamie's head to look at her and there was passion in Jamie's eyes.

"You still taste the same." Alex whispered. Jamie smiled shyly and then looked down at her own hands that were now on Alex's waist.

"Yes." Jamie whispered back.

Alex looked confused. "Yes?"

Jamie looked up at Alex, a slight smile on her face. "Yes I think that we should…start over and get to know each other again."

"Really?"

Jamie nodded, playfully rolling her eyes. "Yes really."

Alex picked Jamie up and spun her around, ecstatic at the thought of having another chance with her. Alex put Jamie back down and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, Jamie." Alex pulled her in for another hug as they embraced while looking out at the city. Then Jamie turned Alex's face to her and kissed her again. Alex automatically opened herself to Jamie and lightly nipped at Jamie's lower lip. This time it was Jamie who pulled away first and leaned up to whisper softly in Alex's ear.

"You still taste the same too."

Alex kissed Jamie's neck and leaned in closer to her ear. "Oh yeah?"

Jamie nodded and she stood in the embrace, leaning once again to whisper into Alex's ear. "I still love you Alex. I don't think I ever stopped."

Alex hugged Jamie tighter to her and closed her eyes, a lone tear ran down her cheek.

"How about we go inside? It's pretty cold out here and that way I can show you around the house." Alex commented.

Jamie nodded, taking Alex's hand as she led her back inside.

Parked outside of a warehouse was Alex's black SUV and Max was inside talking on his cell phone.

"Let me speak with Cindy."

"May I ask who's speaking?" The other voice on the line asked.

"Tell her it's Max."

Max could hear the phone being put down and two minutes later heard the taps of what sounded like heals coming closer to the phone.

"Hello, Max." Cindy breathed onto the phone.

"Cindy I've got some news for you regarding Alexandra."

"Keep talking."

"Remember how I told you she had her assistant Steven looking for that girl that she went to high school with?"

Cindy started to impatiently tap her foot on the floor. "Her name was Jamie. Alexandra could never shut up about that bitch. Every time we were together she would always tell me I would never please her like _Jamie_ did."

"Riiight, well he found her, Jamie and Alex are at her home now…together."

"Oh yeah? Doing what?"

Max rolled his eyes. "Having breakfast I think. But what I do know is that Alex seems quite serious about her. She treats her differently than the others."

Memories of Alex's trysts with her filled Cindy's head. "She treated me like shit and kept coming back for more so I think deep down she loved me. Then she thought she was too good for me. How _dare_ this low class whore try to take what should have been mine. Who does she think she is?"

"I don't think you and Alex were ever a couple, Cindy. You had your husband and she was having her fun."

Cindy walked through her large home and out to the poolside area. "But she always came back to me, Max. _I was her drug_. My husband _left_ me because he found out about Alex and me. Anyway, she should be back here in a few days. We have to promote our movie with the rest of the cast at the premiere. I'll talk to her then, maybe knock some sense into her."

"Okay, Cindy, do what you feel is right."

"I know what's right. Alex and I together. Do you know how many magazine covers we'd be on? We would be the perfect Hollywood couple, don't you think?" Cindy asked, staring at her own reflection in the water as she sat by the pool. Her butler came up to her with a silver platter that had a tiny plastic bag with white powder in it and a small utensil with a scoop at the end. Cindy took the silver plate and opened the bag, dipping the utensil in and scooping up some of the white powder with it. She put it under her nose and quickly inhaled it. She gave the plate with the drugs on it back to the butler, and shook her hand at him to leave.

"Sure." Max whispered.

"Anyway thank you for the information, Max. We'll talk soon." She hung up before Max could say anything else.

Max knew that Cindy was a self absorbed bitch but she was paying him a lot of money to get information on Alex's schedule and personal life. She was obsessed more than ever with Alex ever since they were cast together in 'The Soldiers'. Alex almost didn't take the part because Cindy had a supporting role in the film. She was a bad influence on Alex and was the person that introduced Alex to drugs. Max loved Alex but also needed to support his own family and when Cindy came up with the offer, he took it. There was no turning back now because he was in too deep.

Alex and Jamie were sitting on the couch in front of a burning fire place talking, their legs lightly touching. Jamie was laughing at a story Alex was recalling about when Jamie's mom caught them in the middle of a heavy make out session in Jamie's bedroom.

"Do you remember that? Your mom looked like she was going to pass out!"

"Of course I do. How could I forget?" Jamie laughed.

 **March, 1994**

 _Jamie closed the door to her room once Alex came in behind her. They both dropped their back packs, tired from a long day at school. They had been close friends since last October but only had been dating for four months._

 _Alex walked over to Jamie's bed and laid back onto the pile of pillows. Jamie looked at her with a smile on her face, shaking her head._

" _Alex, you know we have to study for the English test tomorrow. Come on, get up." Jamie threw an eraser at her, hoping to get Alex's attention._

 _Alex covered her face and laughed as the eraser bounced off her arm. "Hey! That's not nice."_

" _It won't be nice when we fail the test tomorrow."_

" _I might fail, but you're too smart for your own good. You won't."_

 _Jamie rolled her eyes and walked towards Alex, "Come on, get up." Jamie took Alex's hand and pulled her up. "I don't want you to fail; that's why we have to study."_

 _Alex sat up on the bed, her hand intertwined with Jamie's. Jamie stood in front of her, looking down with a smile on her face._

" _What time does your mom get home?"_

" _I don't know. Like in an hour I think."_

 _Alex grabbed Jamie's other hand and gently pulled Jamie to her. She then wrapped her arms around Jamie's waist, sliding them up her back, and pulled Jamie down to her mouth. They kissed softly as Jamie ran her hands through Alex's hair. Alex's mouth tasted like sweet cinnamon and Jamie liked the taste very much. Alex was always chewing cinnamon gum and always had a pack with her. Jamie pulled back and looked at Alex._

" _You're trying to make me forget about our studies."_

" _No I'm not." Alex smiled innocently._

" _I see where this is going."_

" _Oh yeah? Where?" Alex whispered._

 _Jamie kissed Alex again, enjoying the feel of her lips against Alex's. Her breathing started to quicken as Alex pulled her down onto the bed with her. Alex could feel Jamie's body heat against her own and it made her want more. She slowly turned Jamie so that she was on her back and Alex moved to lie next to her as they softly continued to kiss. They were kissing for several minutes and Alex couldn't remember how she got on top of Jamie, but her body was now resting between Jamie's legs. Jamie was wearing a skirt that was currently bunched up around her waist. Jamie nibbled on Alex's lower lip and looked up into her eyes. They were both breathing hard and Alex had a visible flush to her cheeks. Jamie could feel Alex's jean shorts against her inner thighs and she wanted to feel more._

" _Take these off." Jamie tugged at Alex's shorts._

" _Okay." Alex breathed. She quickly unzipped her shorts, awkwardly, and threw them on the floor. Alex lowered herself back in between Jamie's legs but stopped to look at Jamie._

" _You okay, Jay?"_

 _Jamie just nodded in disbelief of how good she was feeling at that moment. They had made out before but nothing like this. She could feel Alex's skin against her own. Jamie was feeling so many things at once that she felt like she was about to explode._

 _Alex lowered her head and continued to kiss Jamie. Jamie's breathing was now coming quicker and Alex smiled against their kisses. Alex loved the way Jamie felt against her and she was tingling for more. Alex pushed down against Jamie's hips and noticed how Jamie's breathing turned into a gasp. Jamie automatically lifted her own hips for Alex and they slowly began a dance against each other. Their kissing became frantic and Jamie couldn't help herself as she slid her hands underneath Alex's shirt, grasping onto her back. Both girls were so into what they were doing that they didn't hear Jamie's mom coming up the stairs and opening Jamie's room door._

" _Oh my god! Jamie, what are you doing?!"_

 _Alex flew off of Jamie and grabbed a pillow, covering herself._

 _Jamie sat up quickly, pulling down her skirt. "MOM! It's not what you think!"_

" _Oh really?! You need to get out of here Alexandra!" Jamie's mom then quickly left the room, slamming the door behind her._

 _Jamie and Alex could hear her running back down the stairs, cursing on her way down. Alex looked at Jamie, whose hair was sticking out at different angles, and started to laugh. Jamie looked back at Alex wondering why she was laughing._

" _Why are you laughing?"_

" _Your hair…it's a little bit…messed up."_

 _Jamie continued to stare in disbelief. Her mother had just caught them heavily making out and Alex was laughing about her hair._

" _I'm sorry, Jamie. It's more of a nervous laughter." Alex stopped laughing and put a strand of blond hair behind Jamie's ear and smiled. "You know, I think you just came out to your mom."_

" _I know. Shit! What do we do now?"_

" _Well, she just kicked me out of your house so I think I better leave. I don't want her to come back up here and kick me out on the street when I'm only in my underwear and shirt."_

" _I'm really sorry about that, Alex."_

 _Alex stood and picked up her shorts from the floor. She walked to Jamie and softly kissed her cheek._

" _I'm not. You made me feel things I have never felt before, Jamie. My body is like wired right now… and I think I have no chance at that test tomorrow." Alex winked at Jamie while she put on her shorts. Alex picked up her back pack and started walking to the door to leave. Jamie got up and ran to Alex, turning her around before she could open the door. She laced her arms around Alex's neck and kissed her with all that she had in her. She then opened the door for Alex._

 _Alex looked back at Jamie. "It'll be okay. I promise."_

 _Alex gave Jamie one last peck and ran down the stairs, quickly going through the front door and leaving._

 _Jamie closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it, closing her eyes. She was still warm and fuzzy inside and tingling in places she never knew could feel so good when touched. And then she thought about her mother, who was probably downstairs in the family room waiting for her. Jamie took a deep breath, opened the door again and hoped her embarrassment would kill her before she got downstairs._

" _JAMIE!" her mother yelled as she took the first step down._

"Your mom gave me the silent treatment for a month every time she saw me after that." Alex shook her head, remembering the times she would go over to Jamie's house after the incident. Jamie's mother would ignore her, but still made dinner for both whenever she would stay later.

Jamie laughed and nudged Alex's arm. "I think she learned to love you after she saw that you weren't going anywhere. I had a long talk with my mom that night. It's exhausting to even think about it."

"It's okay, I remember." Alex smiled, then looked over to Jamie. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Have you had other relationships?"

Jamie nodded, playing with her hands nervously. "Yes, I did actually. One other serious relationship."

Alex decided to go further and asked the question she was curious to know about.

"Did you love her?"

Jamie looked into Alex's eyes and there was a guarded look to them.

"Why do you want to know, Alex?"

"I guess…I just wanted to know if there was someone out there that was able to capture your heart. I always thought I would be the only one," Alex softly spoke.

"I'm sure you would have been but we both know how that turned out." Jamie smiled a little, taking the hardness out of her words.

Alex grabbed Jamie's hand and brought it up to her lips. She lightly kissed the back of Jamie's hand. "I know, and I really want to change that, Jay."

Jamie smiled and just stared at her as Alex continued to hold her hand. A ringing phone broke the silence and Alex let go of Jamie's hand to answer her cell phone. Alex took the Blackberry out of her pocket and saw that it was Steven calling. She looked at Jamie apologetically and Jamie knew that she was going to take the call.

"Sorry Jamie, one second." Alex stood up from the couch and walked towards the dining area as she answered. "Yes Steven?"

"Alex! Are you at home?" Steven chirped from the other end.

"Yeah, why?" Alex turned back to Jamie and smiled at her.

"I need you to do an interview in about an hour for Morning Talk."

"Isn't this a little last minute, Steven?"

"I know, I know. But I spoke with one of the producers earlier and I sort of let it slip that you were in town and they want you there for the last hour of the show. Apparently the word has spread and you have tons of fans outside of the building waiting for you."

"Steven, you know you really shouldn't have done this. I'm a little busy right now and I have a guest." Alex's patience started to dwindle.

"Alex, you have to do this. You cancelled SNL earlier. You can't cancel this appearance. Your fans are out there already, and this is great to promote the movie. Everyone loves surprise celebrity guests."

Alex exhaled slowly and walked further into the dining room. "Steven, I said I have a guest. What part of that didn't you understand?"

"Is it Jamie? Come on, Alex. This is important. She can come by later and see you. Anyway it's a little too late because I requested hair and makeup to be at your place and they should be there any minute. They have got the greatest suit for you to wear."

"I can't believe you, Steven," Alex's fingers massaged her forehead. She was stressed out with the situation and how it was unfolding. "Fine, I'll do it."

There was a squeal of delight on the other end. "Beautiful, Alex. I love you!"

Alex didn't give him time to continue because she hung up on him. She turned back towards Jamie, who was sitting on the couch still, looking at the fireplace. _Why does this have to happen now? What am I going to tell her?_

Jamie heard Alex coming back and stood up to meet her.

"Jamie…something has come up and it seems I have an interview I need to go to in an hour."

"Oh, Okay. Well I can leave—"

"No! You can stay, really. I would like you to." Suddenly the door bell rang and both women turned to look at the door. Jamie smiled awkwardly as Alex walked to the door still talking to her. "It'll be just a minute, I promise."

Alex opened the door and there were five people standing there. It was Alex's makeup, hair and wardrobe crew. They all started talking at once as one of the women grabbed Alex and quickly ushered her up the stairs. Alex turned around and yelled down to Jamie. "I'll be right back Jay!"

Jamie stood there in the middle of the family room, not quite knowing what to do. She was about to sit back down, when the door opened again and in walked a slim red head with piercing grey eyes. She looked over to Jamie and quickly assessed her. She had a smug look about her and she walked towards Jamie with one eyebrow raised.

"Are you the maid?" The red head asked.

Jamie grinned at her and shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Oh. Where's Alex?"

"She just went upstairs with a few people."

The red head looked towards the stairs then back to Jamie.

"What's your name?"

"Jamie."

"Jamie, who are you?" The red head once again stared down at her.

"Um…I'm a friend of Alex." Jamie crossed her arms in front of her. She was feeling uncomfortable in front of this woman.

"Funny, Alex never mentioned a Jamie before."

"Okay…well how do _you_ know her?" Jamie wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Jenna. I was looking for Alex because we were going to go out this morning for a workout. Alex _loves_ her workouts. I'm her trainer."

Jamie had a feeling that Jenna was more than a trainer at one time for Alex, by the way Jenna was talking to her. She was talking to Jamie as if she was staking her claim on Alex.

"Well I think she's getting ready for some type of interview this morning."

"Really, is that so?"

Just then, Alex came down the stairs with her makeup and hair done perfectly and she was also wearing something different than what she had on earlier. Jenna saw Alex and practically turned into a hungry tiger right in front of Jamie's eyes.

"Alex!" Jenna ran up to her and threw herself into Alex's surprised arms. She also gave Alex a very noticeably forced kiss on her mouth.

Jamie looked on with confusion and annoyance. Confusion at Alex and Jenna's relationship and annoyance at herself because she was still standing there in Alex's home and feeling like a fool for even coming now.

Alex pushed Jenna away from her. She completely forgot Jenna was coming for a training session today and was bothered by the show of affection when she clearly told Jenna weeks ago that she didn't want to continue their off and on relationship.

Jamie felt awkward and uncomfortable so she walked towards the closet where her coat was hanging and grabbed it to put it on. She turned to button up the coat and saw Jenna practically hanging off of Alex. Alex was trying to reach Jamie but Jenna kept grabbing her.

"Jenna, can you please just back off for a second!" Alex raised her voice. Her cool blue eyes were piercing into Jenna's.

"I'm sorry, Alex. Oh yeah, your friend Jeanie is here."

Jamie rolled her eyes, continuing to fix her coat. Alex quickly walked up to Jamie.

"I'm sorry about this whole situation. It really wasn't supposed to be like this."

Jamie looked up at Alex and Alex saw uncertainty in Jamie's eyes.

"Are you okay, Jamie?" Alex turned towards the door as Steven walked in, loud as usual.

"Guess who ladies! Alex, oh my god you wouldn't believe the traffic out there."

Jamie looked at the man standing at the doorway and figured it was more of Alex's entourage. Alex gave Steven a stern look and he seemed to get the hint as he walked passed them towards Jenna who was still staring at Alex and Jamie.

Alex looked worriedly at Jamie. "It's really not what you might think with Jenna. We had a very crazy relationship—" she was cut off by her stylist coming up behind her to fix a few strands of hair.

"Sweetie you need to watch your hair it—"

"Do you not see that I'm trying to talk right now!" Alex yelled.

"I'm sorry Alexandra." The stylist walked away towards the family room.

Alex took both of Jamie's hands and caressed them. "Will you come with me to the interview? And I promise later we can talk more about all of this."

Jamie nodded. "Sure, I guess."

Alex smiled widely. "Perfect. I would really like you there. Your friend isn't expecting you too soon, is she?"

"No she isn't. She knows I'm here with you." Jamie smiled slightly.

"Okay. Shit, I forgot something upstairs. I'll be right back."

Jamie nodded as Alex ran back upstairs. She turned her head back to the couch as she felt eyes staring at her. Jenna was glaring at her and suddenly stood up and walked slowly to her.

"So I guess you're her new conquest."

Jamie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Excuse me?"

"You might be her conquest for now. But once she gets tired of you, she'll let you go." Jenna put her hands on her hips and looked down at Jamie like a bug that needed to be squashed.

"I'm sure that when she let you go, Jenna, there was a very good reason for it. I don't know what happened between you and Alex, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you can't get over it and over yourself." Jamie was talking calmly to Jenna, whose face was turning a bright shade of pink.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, Jeanie."

"It's Jamie and I really don't care to know." Jamie was very annoyed at Jenna's huge ego and wanted to leave. She didn't want to go to the interview with Alex anymore. She just wanted to go back to the hotel and get on with her normal life.

Alex came walking down the stairs and saw how Jenna was staring at Jamie. Jenna's face was still a shade of pink and she looked like she wanted to strangle Jamie. Alex reached the last step, her eyebrows together in confusion.

"What are you doing, Jenna?"

Jenna turned to face Alex and smiled. "I was just talking to your friend here. She has quite the sense of humor."

Jamie looked at Jenna in disbelief, then back to Alex.

"I think I'd rather go back to the hotel, Alex. I'm not feeling well."

Alex walked up to Jamie and spoke softly. "Did she say something to you?"

"It doesn't really matter. I think you have unfinished business with Jenna and need to speak with her."

Alex turned back to Jenna, anger clearly written on her face. "Did you say anything to her?! Because if you did, you need to realize that she is a very special person to me and if you or anyone tries to hurt her or treat her badly you'll have to deal with me. You know very well that there is nothing between us and there never really was. What we had was unimportant and you were just a pass time, Jenna."

"I can't believe you, Alex. Do you realize how embarrassing this is? Your friend is standing right there." Jenna pointed to Jamie, who was watching everything unfold.

"Get the fuck out of here, Jenna. I'm leaving anyway. So go!" Alex yelled.

"But Alex…"

"Get out of my house!" Alex took Jenna by the arm and walked her to the door. She opened it and pushed Jenna out, closing it in her face. She walked back to Jamie, embarrassed herself. Alex put her hands to her side and inhaled slowly.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie. This is literally a day in my life. I never get quiet time and there's always some sort of drama going on. Are you okay?"

Jamie cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect to meet her. I didn't know people could be so conniving."

Alex stood in front of Jamie and brushed a strand of hair from Jamie's face.

"Unfortunately that's about half of young Hollywood. Those are the type of people I'm really trying to stay away from. I completely forgot she was coming today."

"I don't see how you could have even started to stick with people like that. You hated people like that in High School."

"I know, but when you're in this industry, it's like you turn into someone that you're not. I don't ever want to go back to the woman I was. She was hurting, lonely and disgusted with herself."

"Alex, you don't ever have to go back to that. I know you, and you're a beautiful person, inside and out. That's what I love most about you."

Alex smiled and caressed Jamie's face. She wanted to kiss Jamie badly so she leaned down towards Jamie's lips. Jamie leaned up towards Alex and slowly closed her eyes. Before she got to touch Jamie's lips with her own, the doorbell rang again.

Alex's shoulders slumped at the interrupted moment. Steven came running out of one of the rooms, with the rest of the group following him. "That's Max, Alex. It's time to go."

Steven opened the door for Max and two very large men dressed in Tuxedos with dark glasses on. He nodded at them then left with the entourage following behind him. "I'll meet you at the studio, Alex!" Steven yelled past the door.

Max and the two men stood at the door waiting for Alex and politely smiled at both women.

"Hey there, Max." Alex waved. Alex looked back down at Jamie. "Are you ready to go?"

Jamie looked up at Alex and noticed a change within Alex, it was the same change that she noticed back at the hotel, getting off the elevators. It was a cool indifference. Almost like she was changing into the Actress 'Alexandra Davenport' and not the sweet Alex she knew.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Great, come on." Alex put on her coat and a pair of sunglasses. She led Jamie out of the house and they were both immediately flanked by the large men as they stepped into the elevator on their way down.

The elevator ride was quiet and Jamie couldn't believe the morning she was having. Little did she know the day would be getting crazier than she could ever imagine.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** These characters are all mine. No, you cannot steal them or this story. All mine! See part one for full disclaimer.

xxxxxx

The SUV pulled up to the Morning Talk studio. There was a large crowd of people

yelling, standing behind metal barricades, some even waving large poster boards with

Alex's name on them. Alex looked out of the window and smiled, then turned to Jamie

who was sitting next to her. Sitting in front of Alex was one of the body guards, she

tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Luke. When I get out, have Ricky watch Jamie." Ricky was the other bodyguard for Alex.

Luke only nodded and whispered a command into his earpiece. Jamie figured he was talking to Ricky who was in the car behind them. Jamie looked outside at the crowd then back to Alex.

"That's a huge crowd. I can't imagine how they found out so quickly that you were coming here."

"Word of mouth I guess. My fans are usually very respectful but every once in a while you'll get a really riled up one that stands out. That's why I'm having Ricky watch you on our way in." Alex said.

Jamie laughed, "Why me, I'm not the famous one here."

"It can be very overwhelming, Jamie. I also want to make sure you're okay on our way in."

There was a tap on the window as Ricky stood outside Alex's door. Max unlocked the doors as Luke stepped out of the vehicle. Luke walked around and looked inside at Alex. She jumped out of the SUV and motioned for Ricky to help Jamie out. As soon as Alex stepped out, the crowd screamed even louder. Luke guided her by the small of her back as Alex walked towards the fans who were reaching out to her and trying to get any glimpse of her that they could. Alex flashed her well-known smile at her fans as she greeted them. She signed miscellaneous items, gave some fans hugs and posed quickly for pictures.

She then walked away from the crowd, nodding her thanks as Luke led her to the studio doors. Jamie was already inside with Ricky and she stared out at the crowd through the glass doors. She couldn't believe how many people were outside. Steven came up from behind Jamie and stood next to her.

"She's always so nice to her fans. Alex really appreciates them." Steven spoke softly.

Jamie looked up at Steven and smiled, "I see that. It's like she's trying to give a little time to each of them. But there's so many."

"Yup, there are always plenty of fans, she's never alone." Steven didn't know how untrue that remark was. Jamie remembered what Alex had told her at her home and looked back towards Alex who was entering the building now with Luke at her side. Alex removed her sunglasses and walked towards Steven and Jamie.

"Great crowd, huh." Alex grinned and put her hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie was a little overwhelmed at the welcome they got. She nodded, still looking out the glass doors. The producer of Morning Talk walked quickly up to the group. She stopped in front of Alex and gave her hand for Alex to shake.

"Hello Alexandra, I'm Lindsey, the Producer."

Alex smiled, and shook Lindsey's hand. "Hi, how are you, Lindsey."

Lindsey nodded curtly and motioned to the group with Alex "Is this everyone?"

"Yes, these are my guards and these are my friends Jamie and Steven."

"Okay, well you guys can follow me, please. Alex you're going to be interviewed by Cate Allen. She's going to be asking you a few questions about your movie. Are there any questions that are off limits?"

Alex shook her head. "No, I'm an open book Lindsey, ask away." She laughed and followed Lindsey backstage. Jamie, Steven, Ricky and Luke followed behind. While they were all backstage someone walked up to Alex and quickly fixed her hair and patted her face with make-up. Jamie could see Cate Allen already sitting down for the interview. Cate Allen was well known for getting interviews with A-listers and asking difficult questions. She was currently sitting down getting her lipstick touched up and had her legs crossed in front of her, her blonde hair shining under the bright lights.

Lindsey took Alex's elbow when she was done with touch ups and lead her to the seat in front of Cate. Alex turned around to look at Jamie who was standing behind the cameras. She winked at Jamie and turned back around to greet Cate. Jamie Smiled and suddenly felt eyes on her. She turned and found Steven staring at her with a small grin on his face. Jamie blushed and knew he had noticed Alex wink at her.

"Everyone, cell phones on silent please!" Someone yelled out.

Jamie took out her phone and silenced it. She noticed she had three text messages from Clarissa. Two texts wondering how her time with Alex was going, and one begging her to come back already because Jamie's mother was apparently driving her crazy. Suddenly the Morning Talk music came over the speakers silencing everyone behind the cameras.

"On air in 5…4…3…" Lindsey counted down and when reaching two and one, pointed to Cate.

"Good morning everyone, I'm Cate Allen and I have a very special guest with me today. She's been in multiple award winning movies and is here to talk about her most recent movie 'The Soldiers'. Alexandra Davenport is here with me today, how are you this morning Alexandra?" Cate turned away from the camera and smiled at Alex.

"Good morning, Cate. I'm great this morning, thank you." Alex smiled back, her blue eyes seeming to glow under the lights. In front of the camera Alex looked at home and relaxed.

"The first question I have today is something I've been curious about for a few months now. How is life treating you at the present time?"

Alex laughed, "More like, how am I treating life."

"Sure, yeah definitely, however you see it." Cate slightly cocked her head waiting for Alex's answer.

Alex ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm treating life with more respect now. Before, I didn't really do that. I'm more serious about my work and I have more respect for myself."

Cate nodded in agreement. "That's great! I think viewers can really see that in your new film, 'The Soldiers'. It's a real life drama and you're wonderful in it. The way your character is treated just because she's a lesbian soldier is so sad. What do you say about that and her struggles?"

"I think the struggle that my character goes through in this movie is something that a lot of gay and lesbian soldiers go through today and we wanted to portray that in a realistic way. I wanted to make sure my characters story was told properly so people out there can know what these soldiers in that predicament have to go through just to fight for their country."

Cate nodded again looking down at her set of cards she had in her lap. "Now, you have a love interest in this film and that character is played by Cindy Howard. How was it working with Cindy in this film?"

Alex internally rolled her eyes. She hated talking about Cindy but knew it was no use avoiding it because Cindy played her love interest in the movie. Alex plastered a fake smile on her face while answering the question. "Cindy was great to work with, she was very professional, came to work on time and she's a good person. The whole cast was great, they all told their stories for their characters in a truthful way and I know the audience will notice that."

"I'm thinking Oscar here, Alexandra." Cate laughed.

"You never know." Alex smiled shyly.

Off camera, Steven stepped closer to Jamie who was watching the interview intently. He touched her arm lightly and spoke softly in Jamie's ear.

"She hates talking about Cindy. I could almost hear her thoughts screaming when Cate asked her that question." Jamie looked up at Steven, curious.

"What do you mean?" Jamie whispered back.

"Well, Cindy was the one that got Alex into drugs and a whole lot of trouble back in her partying days."

"So Cindy Howard is not a very nice person I'm guessing." Jamie stated.

"Alex just plays for the cameras. She doesn't like any drama or Hollywood feud gossip."

Jamie looked back towards the two women talking as the shows theme music started to play, leading out to a commercial. The interview was over and Alex gave Cate a hug, thanked her and walked towards Jamie and Steven. Alex looked at Steven. "How did I look?"

"You looked wonderful sweetie, as always." Steven smiled.

Alex turned towards Jamie, and caressed her arm. "Was that weird for you?"

Jamie laughed and shook her head. "No, Actually I thought it was very surreal and you answered all those questions quickly and perfectly it seemed."

"That's because those are the same questions I get asked all the time. It's almost like a broken record, but I'm glad you enjoyed it." Alex turned to Luke and Ricky so that they could leave the Studio. Luke spoke low into his earpiece and nodded.

"Alex, Max is out front waiting."

Alex looked confused. "Why is he in the front?"

"He says there are too many paps out back waiting for you."

"I think you should listen to Max, Alex." Steven said.

Alex nodded and searched for Jamie's hand. Jamie intertwined their fingers and looked up at Alex who was now talking to someone on her cell phone. Luke was in front of them and Ricky was behind them, leading them outside to their waiting ride. As soon as the front doors opened there were flashes everywhere. There were no barricades holding anyone back and it took them by surprise.

Alex put her phone away and looked around them. "What the hell?"

"I thought Max said the front was safe?!" Steven yelled from behind Jamie.

"Guess not." Alex said under her breath.

The crowd was large and they were pushing against them, yelling for autographs and grabbing at Alex. Luke was busy pushing people away from Alex and yelling at them to back off when a fan in the crowd yanked roughly on Jamie's coat from the side, forcing Jamie to let go of Alex's hand. Jamie landed hard on the cold sidewalk, but the crowd barely noticed as they continued around Jamie to try and see Alex.

Alex turned around quickly as soon as she felt her arm pulled backwards and wasn't quick enough to grab Jamie as she fell. Luke was still guiding her to the car and didn't hear Alex yell for him to stop.

"Luke, God damn it! Let go of me!"

Luke turned around in question and finally saw Ricky trying to get Jamie off of the sidewalk. Alex walked back towards Jamie, shaking off the arms that still grabbed at her. Alex was now very pissed off. Ricky pushed the crowd to the side and helped Jamie back up. His arms automatically went around her to protect her from the crowd. Alex finally got to Ricky and Jamie, quickly grabbing Jamie's hand.

"You okay, Jay?" Alex asked as they were led again back to the car and were finally able to get in the SUV and past the crowd. Ricky closed the door behind them and went to the front seat.

Alex sat close to Jamie, a protective arm around her shoulders. "What happened, Jay?"

Jamie ran her hands through her hair nervously. "I don't know. One second I'm holding your hand and the next second I'm being pulled to the side."

Steven spoke up loudly. "More like thrown. She practically flew into the crowd. One of those crazies out there grabbed her coat, hard."

Alex noticed Jamie holding her hands close to her. "Hey, let me see, please?"

Jamie looked up at Alex, shaking her head. "It's nothing, really. Just some scrapes."

Alex took Jamie's palms and saw that they were scratched and red. "Fuck, you could have broken your wrists. I'm so sorry, I had no clue all those people were out there."

"It's okay, Alex. When I get back to the hotel I'll take care of them, they aren't that bad. I was a little startled, that's all." Alex felt the frustration well up inside her. The thought of Jamie leaving back to the hotel saddened her and the fact that Jamie got hurt made her angry. As the car sped back to Alex's house, she scooted up in her seat and spoke dangerously low to Max.

"What the fuck happened back there, Max? You tell Luke and Ricky that its all clear out front and then once we get outside there are tons of people waiting for us like fucking animals!"

Max looked nervously into the rear view mirror to look at Alex. He knew the crowd was out in the front because Cindy had told him that fans liked to hang outside of the building sometimes waiting for a possible peek at a celebrity. Cindy forced Max to wait for Alex there, knowingly lying to the bodyguards.

"I'm sorry Alex. I think the paparazzi recognized the SUV and told the rest of their friends where you were getting out. I was going to call you, I swear, but it was too late."

Alex stared at Max's eyes through the mirror. "You've been working for me for years Max. Jamie got hurt because of your slip. This better not happen again or I'll fucking fire you." Alex seethed.

Jamie touched Alex's shoulder to try and calm her. "I'm okay, Alex. That's all that matters. Max isn't to blame. I'm sure if he had time to call you, he would have."

Max stared back at Jamie and mentally kicked himself. Jamie getting hurt was not part of the plan.

Alex sat back and took one of Jamie's hands. "Will you come back to my place, just so we can get your hands looked at? I really want to get them cleaned."

"Sure, that's fine. What a crazy day, huh?" Jamie smiled.

Alex caressed Jamie's face softly. "I'm really sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"Can you guys drop me off first? I have things to do as well." Steven whined.

Alex smacked him on the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Max, lets drop off Steven first, please."

"Yes, Alexandra."

xxxxxx

The vehicle stopped in front of Stevens place and he jump out waving back at Jamie.

"I'm so sad about what happened today sweet cheeks. This normally doesn't happen. I hope you feel better." He looked at Alex, "See you later on, Alex." Steven wiggled his eyebrows and slammed the door shut.

Alex smiled and shook her head. Jamie smiled nervously now that it was just the two of them in the back of the car.

"You have very interesting friends."

"Oh, you mean Steven."

"Yeah, but he's nice. Very informative."

Alex smiled crookedly. "Informative? Did he tell you something about me?"

"He told me something." Jamie smiled and nodded.

Alex pressed a button on the door and a black wall came up separating the front seats from the back passenger seats.

"What exactly did he tell you, Jamie?" Alex was in a playful mood, now that they were somewhat alone.

"What's up with the divider?"

Alex leaned in closer to Jamie and smelled Jamie's perfume. "I wanted to have some alone time with you."

"At least you're being truthful." Jamie looked into Alex's eyes and couldn't resist the pull that Alex had on her.

Jamie leaned in towards Alex's lips that were slightly open and kissed her. Alex had wanted to kiss Jamie again since the balcony that morning. Their kiss was soft and the two explored each others mouths like two teenagers kissing for the first time.

Alex moved her mouth to Jamie's neck just below her ear and bit down softly. From what Alex remembered, that used to be Jamie's spot. It was the area that turned Jamie into liquid heat. Jamie clenched Alex's blouse in her hands as Alex continued to softly nip on her neck. Alex realized that the spot still worked. She smiled against Jamie's skin and moved her lips to Jamie's ear.

"So what did Steven tell you?"

Jamie pushed back and looked into Alex's eyes and smiled, shaking her head. Jamie's eyes were still half lidded. "You're incredible, Alex." Jamie laughed, pushing Alex away.

Alex took Jamie's hands, softly, and kissed each palm. "Be careful with these."

Jamie nodded trying to shake the warm feeling that was quickly taking over her body.

"I'm just kidding Jamie, we're almost at my place, that's why I stopped." Alex looked into Jamie's eyes and noticed the glazed look they had. "You want more." Alex whispered; it was more of a statement than a question.

Jamie nodded and put her arms around Alex, whispering in Alex's ear. "I do, but I… can't."

Jamie's voice was warm in her ear and Alex closed her eyes. She wanted Jamie, craved her.

The car stopped and Ricky opened the door for them to get out. Alex pulled away from Jamie, took her hand and kissed it again softly. "Lets take care of these."

"Okay." Alex helped Jamie out of the car and Ricky walked them inside of the building.

They took the elevator back up to Alex's condo and they both walked inside. It was early afternoon and Jamie knew she had to call Clarissa and let her know what she was up to.

Jamie grabbed the phone out of her coat pocket and turned to Alex who was removing her own coat.

"I need to call Clarissa really quick, she's been messaging me and I think my mother is driving her crazy." Jamie laughed. Alex smiled and nodded while walking towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, go ahead, I'm just going to grab a few things for your hands. I'll be right back." Alex turned the corner and was out of sight. Jamie looked down at the phone and called Clarissa. Surprisingly, Clarissa answered on the first ring.

"Hey you! Where the hell have you been and how are things going?"

"I'm still with Alex, we just got back from an interview she had to do." Jamie walked over to the family room and sat down on one of the couches.

"You went with her to an interview? I can't believe it! Well, I'm still here with your mom and John, so please come back." Clarissa whispered.

"I should be back in an hour or two, Clar. I just got into a little predicament with a few rowdy fans and my hands got scraped up a little." Jamie looked down at her left hand that was starting to turn a darker shade of red.

Clarissa, now concerned, held her cell more tightly to her ear. "How the hell do hands get scraped up, what happened?"

"We were walking out to Alex's ride and I think someone grabbed me and pretty much shoved me aside. It's not as bad as it sounds, really."

"Doesn't Alex have people to protect her from that sort of thing?" Clarissa sounded annoyed by the tone of her voice. Jamie looked up and saw Alex come around the corner with a few items in her hands. Alex saw Jamie still talking on the phone and smiled as she walked towards her, sitting next to her on the couch.

"Are you sure you're okay, Jamie?" Clarissa asked.

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Okay, I believe you. Oh, hey, what time does our flight leave tomorrow?"

" It leaves at ten in the morning…"

Alex placed all of the first aid supplies on her coffee table and couldn't help but listen in on Jamie's phone conversation. Alex wondered if the time Jamie was speaking of was when she had to leave; travel back to California and her life over there.

"…Alright, I will, see you soon." Jamie ended the call and placed her cell back in her coat pocket.

"Clarissa says hello." Jamie laughed while taking off her coat. Alex looked at her and smiled. " She's a good friend, right?" Alex questioned.

Jamie nodded. "My best friend actually. I love her to death."

"That's good because good friends are really hard to find, and I like her so far." Alex smiled and took Jamie's hands in hers, turning them over so her palms were facing up.

"This might sting a little, okay?"

Jamie nodded and braced herself for the sting. Alex then dabbed her palms with a little alcohol on both hands. Jamie hissed but kept her hands on Alex's lap. Alex looked up at her with concern on her face, "You okay?" Jamie nodded again as Alex finished cleaning her scraped and bruised palms. They were both quiet for a moment when Alex finished. Jamie knew it was time she had to go back to the hotel and get ready for an early start the next day. They looked at each other, both smiling. Jamie decided to speak first.

"Thank you for today, Alex. It was a truly wonderful experience. Including the part where I got into an argument with your trainer and even the part where I got shoved by a group of your fans, which by the way wasn't such a bad thing because now I'm here with you." Jamie smiled shyly at Alex.

Alex was feeling a lot of mixed emotions. There was so much that she wanted to say and she knew she didn't have a lot of time to express it. Alex gently took Jamie's hands in hers again. "I'm happy that I was able to be with you today too. I'm really sorry about how the day started, with Jenna I mean. I swear that we have nothing between us anymore. I just wanted you to know that." Alex looked down at their hands, deep in thought.

Jamie couldn't see Alex's eyes and even after so many years apart Jamie knew Alex was trying to hide her emotions. "It's really okay, Alex. I actually completely forgot about her." Jamie laughed.

Alex looked back up and smiled slightly, then she asked the question she needed an answer to. "What time do you leave back to California?"

"I leave tomorrow morning at ten. I have a speaking gig at the convention center later tomorrow." Alex nodded in recognition and finally lifted her head to look at Jamie.

"I understand. I only wish we could have spent more time with each other today. I just found you, Jay, and I'm afraid that if you leave… I'll never see you again."

Hearing those words out of Alex made Jamie want to stay there with her forever. But she had a life and so did Alex and they both knew it was back to reality. They weren't teenagers anymore where they could spend everyday together. They were adults and had different responsibilities to uphold. Especially with Alex being a celebrity, Jamie knew that she would be needed all the time. She wanted this to work between her and Alex, and she wanted to get to know her all over again. She also knew that it would probably be much more difficult than before.

" Didn't we have this conversation on that beautiful terrace out there? I want to try again with you. I still love you, Alex, and a part of me wants you badly right now, right here. But I'm also afraid of the big celebrity life. I'm nothing compared to you and what you've done. I'm just someone that knows how to speak for others, who can't. My life isn't this glamorous."

" I want us to try again, Jay. I don't want you to leave without you knowing that I'll be here for you. I want us to work and I know we can. I have a house over there and I also have a premiere I need to be at in a few days, so we can spend as much time as we need together." Alex kissed Jamie's fingers.

Jamie smiled, knowing that this decision would change her life forever. Jamie lowered their hands and wrapped her arms around Alex. They held each other tightly, not wanting to separate. Alex leaned her face into Jamie's hair and softly kissed her there. Alex leaned back and looked into Jamie's bright green eyes. She slowly lowered her lips to Jamie's as they kissed. Alex caressed Jamie's face and entangled her fingers into Jamie's hair. The kiss went on, both too afraid to go any further than that. Alex wanted everything to be special for Jamie, even if it meant waiting for as long as Jamie needed.

They pulled apart as Alex's cell phone rang. Alex looked down at the caller ID and pressed the silent button. " Every time I'm busy I always get a call from someone that wants me to do something for them. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand. I have to start leaving soon anyway. Clarissa is going to start worrying."

" Sure, I'll get Max to take you back." Alex stood up and dialed Max's number.

xxxxxx

The ride back to the hotel was slow, Alex stayed at her home because of an appointment she had later in the evening. Jamie quietly sat in the back of the SUV watching the New York scenery pass by. Max looked at Jamie through the rearview mirror and contemplated her as she stared out of the window.

"How're your hands?" Max asked, forcefully.

Jamie slightly jumped in her seat, lost in her thoughts, and until now the ride was completely silent. Jamie unconsciously looked down at her hands that were still somewhat red.

"They're fine, Alex cleaned them up for me, thank you." Jamie could only see Max's eyes in the mirror as he nodded.

"That's good." Max continued to drive to the hotel and the rest of the ride was silent.

After a drive that seemed to take an eternity they finally reached the hotel.

"Thank you for the ride back, Max. I really appreciate it." Jamie smiled as she opened her door and got out of the SUV.

"You're welcome, have a good one." He watched her as she stepped out and closed the door. He drove away before Jamie could get inside and grabbed his cell phone dialing Cindy's number, waiting as it rang.

"What's going on, Max?" She finally answered.

"Do you realize that I almost got fired today because of your stupid vendetta you have against Alex!" Max yelled into the phone.

"Oh come on now, Max. It couldn't have been that bad. It was just a minor inconvenience I wanted Alex to be part of. She hates surprises." Cindy laughed.

"Well your _minor inconvenience_ got Jamie grabbed by one of those crazy fans, who then decided to knock her down. And do you know who got the brunt of Alex's anger? I did, Cindy!"

"Calm down, anger does not suit you. If Alex's little brat got hurt that's not my problem. Anyway, Max, I have to go now, call me when something important comes up."

"Wait!" Max yelled.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "What?"

" I just dropped Jamie off at her hotel so I think she's leaving soon. Alex is at home now and I don't have to pick her up until later this evening."

Cindy seemed interested now and leaned more into her phone.

"So the brat isn't with her now?"

"No."

The line went dead and Max looked down at his cell phone screen. Cindy had hung up.

"Crazy bitch."

xxxxxx

Jamie opened her room door and walked inside. The room was empty and it looked like Clarissa and her mother had not made it back yet. "Now that I'm here Clarissa decides to stay out."

Jamie picked up her suitcase that was next to her bed and opened it to start putting away her clothes and random odds and ends she collected on her stay in the city. She couldn't wait to get home to her own bed and her nice, quiet, neighborhood. Jamie didn't know how people could live here permanently with all of the noise and rush that everyone seemed to be in. Everyone in New York seemed to be on fast forward and she needed to slow down, especially with the type of day she had today. Jamie sat down on her bed and turned on the TV, deciding to wait for Clarissa and her mother. She flipped through the channels quickly until she saw a familiar face come up on the screen. It was the interview from this morning and Alex was talking about her new movie and co-star, Cindy. The entertainment announcer on the news channel started to dissect Alex's interview and speculate if Alex's onscreen affair with Cindy's character was also the same in real life. Jamie rolled her eyes and changed the channel. It was during a commercial that they gave the trailer to 'The Soldiers'. She couldn't take her eyes off of the trailer as she contemplated Alex's character on the screen. Jamie couldn't believe how far Alex had come, and especially couldn't believe that less than an hour ago she was with Alex at her home.

Jamie was deep in thought about today's events, when the door to her room brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to see Clarissa walking in with a huge smile on her face.

"I am so happy you're back Jamie, I missed you!" She walked up to Jamie and sat next to her on the bed.

"You act like you haven't seen me in years, Clar. I've only been gone for half a day; and where's my mother?"

"It feels like I haven't seen you in years since Alexandra Davenport decided to kidnap you this morning, and your mom is with John downstairs in the restaurant eating. Apparently they are both planning to stay here in NY for a few more days." Clarissa wiggled her eyebrows at Jamie.

" Wait…John and my mom?" Jamie's face was in disbelief.

" Yeah, Jay, sweetie. Your mom is a cougar."

Jamie slapped Clarissa on the arm. " That's just not right, Clar."

"Who cares, how was your day with Alexandra?"

Jamie took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was good. Busy, but good. I felt like a fly on the wall looking in on her life. When she's at home she seems so relaxed but as soon as she's out and about, she changes into this other person. Almost like a predator on the prowl."

"Ooh that sounds sexy."

Jamie gave Clarissa a mischievous look then laid her head on Clarissa's shoulder.

"It was, and then when she smiles everyone goes crazy…and I melt because I remember when that smile was only for me." Jamie whispered.

Clarissa looked down at Jamie, "Do you still love her?"

"When I look back, I think I've always had a spot reserved for her, a spot no one else could touch and when I saw her yesterday… it was like she filled that spot instantly."

"But do you _love_ her?" There was silence after she asked the question and Jamie thought back to what she told Alex earlier.

"Yeah…I do."

"Wow. So what are you guys going to do, I mean, have you even told her this yet?"

"She told me first and then I told her," Jamie looked up at Clarissa, "she wants to start over again…with me."

Clarissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And all this time I thought I had a chance with you." She whispered jokingly. Jamie laughed at the comment.

"I'm serious, Clar! I guess I should be seeing her again in a few days. She's coming back to California for her movie premiere. You won't believe some of the people that look after her. They're pretty stuck up. I kind of got into it with her personal trainer earlier. I think that if you looked up asshole in the dictionary, her face would be there."

"And Alex saved you from this asshole?"

Jamie nodded, smiling. "Yeah, things were escalating. She thought I was the maid."

"You're joking." It was more of a statement.

Jamie shook her head, completely serious.

"Nope. But it's okay, like I said, Alex saved me." She smiled.

Clarissa hugged Jamie tightly.

"Sweetie, I'm really sorry about that. Hollywood types are so into themselves sometimes that they don't see the effect they have on other people around them. Are you sure you want to get into this with Alex?"

Jamie inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"I just have to take that chance."

"Are you sure you want to do that after what she did on your graduation? You trust her that much after all the years of no contact?"

"Yes, I do."

Clarissa smiled and gave Jamie one last squeeze.

"Okay, then I'm here for you, Jamie."

Jamie squeezed Clarissa back, let go, and playfully punched her on the arm.

"You're the best, Clar, thank you." Clarissa got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. She suddenly turned around with a mischievous glare.

"Did you guys have sex?"

"Clarissa!" Jamie yelled and threw a pillow at her.

Clarissa ducked quickly, laughing, while she ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Jamie shook her head lying back against the headboard. She felt a heaviness leave her body as her emotions finally seemed to settle down. She needed a nap, desperately.

xxxxxx

The sound of a phone ringing woke her up. Jamie opened her eyes and turned her head towards the window. It was dark, and she realized she must have fallen asleep without realizing it. She looked at the phone next to her on the bedside table as it continued to ring. Jamie rolled across the large king size bed and also realized she still had her clothes on from the day before. Jamie picked up the phone, loosely holding it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"This is your courtesy call. It's 7:30am, Ms. Johnson."

Jamie turned to the digital clock on the other side of the bed. She had definitely slept through the rest of yesterday afternoon and into the next morning.

"Okay, thank you." She hung up the phone and stretched.

Jamie got up, turned on the lights to the room and walked towards Clarissa's section of the room. She slowly walked towards the sleeping figure in the bed and gave Clarissa a few nudges on her shoulder.

"Clar, wake up, time to get ready to leave for the airport." She nudged Clarissa a little harder this time. "Earth to Clare." Jamie walked to the light switch, turning on the lights right above Clarissa's bed. "Get up!"

There was a moan and the sheets flew off of the bed.

"Remind me again why we had to book the early flight." Clarissa sat up with one eye open. Jamie smiled and shook her head, leaving the room to get ready.

An hour later they were both ready to leave New York and go back to California. Jamie was on the phone talking to her mother who had decided to stay in New York a little longer with her manager John.

"Yes mother, I had a great time with Alex. I'll tell you about everything later when I get back home. Have a good time with John and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Jamie laughed as she hung up. She looked at Clarissa who was smiling at her.

"What?" Jamie asked.

"I think your mother and John are seriously-" Clarissa couldn't finish what she was going to say because Jamie quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Don't say it, Clar." Jamie slowly removed her hand from Clarissa's mouth.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

They both left the room with all of their belongings and took the elevator downstairs. Clarissa finished checking them out of the hotel at the front desk and walked to Jamie who was already outside, waiting for her. Jamie hailed a cab and once everything was in the trunk they were both on their way to the airport. There was a chirping sound coming from Jamie's hands. She looked down at her cell phone as it rang. It was Alex.

"Hello?" Jamie asked with a smile on her face.

"Hey there, Jay. I just wanted to tell you to have a safe trip back." Alex sounded shy, her voice softer than normal.

"Thank you. I'm just dreading the long flight back." Jamie glanced at Clarissa who was smiling while staring out of her window. She knew Clarissa was listening in on her conversation.

"Yeah I completely understand. Driving through time zones can be hectic on the body."

Alex wanted to talk to her for hours if she could have, but she knew she had a busy day ahead of her. Alex had multiple meetings and promotions she needed to attend for her movie and she knew she would be swamped with work.

"It is pretty hard. I know you're used to it though. You travel all over the world, Alex. How do you do it?"

Alex smiled, unconsciously rubbing the back of her neck.

"I try to get as many massages that I can."

Jamie's thoughts slightly took a turn as she imagined Alex's skin underneath her own fingers. When they were in High School, Alex would always ask her to massage her shoulders for her. But that was a long time ago. Her thoughts were broken by Alex's voice.

"You still there, Jay?"

Jamie cleared her throat. "Um…yeah, sorry. I don't get any massages, something about a stranger touching me makes me a little uncomfortable."

"Well, I can give you one when we see each other again, if you want." Alex's voice sounded nervous but cautious. Jamie smiled and nodded slightly.

"I want."

On the other line Alex combed her fingers through her hair with a sense of giddiness. But it felt good and was definitely welcome. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way. She bit her lip lightly and was about to say something but she could hear Clarissa in the background talking to Jamie.

Jamie looked out of her window and saw that they had made it to the airport. The taxi driver parked in front of their departure zone, then stepped out of the car.

"Hey, Alex, we're here at the airport now so I'm going to have to give you a call back when we land in California." Jamie continued to step out of the Taxi and grabbed her bags that the driver gave her.

"Okay, that's fine. I'll talk to you later then?" Alex asked.

Jamie smiled. "Of course."

They both hung up and both felt as light as a feather. Whenever Alex talked to Jamie, she felt at ease and ready for anything.

Clarissa took care of the taxi expenses and walked with Jamie into the airport.

"Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad Alex found you. You look really happy." Clarissa smiled and put her arm around Jamie's shoulders as they walked to their gate with their rolling suitcases behind them. Jamie nodded as she put her own arm around Clarissa's waist.

"I am happy, Clar."

"Good."

Clarissa pulled away. They were both tired. One from lack of sleep, the other from sleeping too much.

"I wonder who Alex is going with to the movie premiere." Clarissa said, looking at Jamie.

Jamie looked puzzled.

"She needs a date to go to one of those things?" She asked, curious.

Clarissa nodded. "Usually celebs go with someone else."

"Interesting. I'm sure it'll be Steven. He's her best friend."

They nodded silently as they finally reached their gate number. It was time to finally head home.

Continued in pt 5


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Thank you everyone for reading! I have so many readers and very little reviews, don't be shy and let me know what you think:) Enjoy this next chapter.**

 **xxxxxx**

Three days had passed and Jamie had not heard from Alex since she left New York for California. Jamie called Alex when they landed at LAX but received no answer, so she left a message instead. She was curious to see what Alex was up to but she didn't want it to seem like she was checking up on her, she didn't have that right. That next day she spoke at the convention center, posed for pictures with people from the audience who were fans of her work in the GLBT community and signed autographs. Afterwards, she and Clarissa had gone out to eat in the West Hollywood area and when she finally got home she was exhausted. Clarissa had dropped her off at her home, which was located in a nice, quiet, suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Jamie walked over to her porch with a glass of orange juice in her hand. It was early morning and she wanted to watch the city wake up. She opened the sliding glass doors and looked out at her view. Her home was midway up a mountain, and when she looked down she could see parts of Los Angeles below. At night it was a perfect view because all of the city lights in the distance seemed to sparkle like stars. The lights would cast an orange glow over the city and all you could see would be the shadow of the mountains surrounding the city as everyone slept. In the morning Jamie would sit on her porch and enjoy the sounds of the birds waking up, the way the morning dew made the grass shine, like it had small diamonds on every blade and she loved the quiet calm that the morning always brought her.

After a few minutes of being outside Jamie walked back inside and back to her kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and realized she needed to go grocery shopping.

"How is it that I always run out of food so quickly?" Jamie closed the refrigerator door and went to sit down on her couch. She had nothing to do today and had no clue how to spend her time. _I wonder what Alex is doing right now._ Jamie thought.

xxxxxx

Alex had been so busy since she flew in from New York. She had been in California for two days now promoting her movie with the rest of the cast as it would eventually lead up to the official red carpet premiere that was on Friday. Alex was feeling tired and had not slept very well the past few days. She knew she needed to call Jamie back but every time she thought she was going to have free time, something came up. When she missed Jamie's call, she was at a dinner with a well-known producer that wanted her in his next big movie. Alex had yet to open the script to start reading it. She looked down at her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts. She stopped at Jamie's number, nervous, would Jamie be upset at her for not returning her call earlier?

She selected the number and waited for Jamie to answer. When she did, Alex had no idea what to say. She figured some form of 'hi' would be the best way to go. Alex cleared her throat after Jamie's voice softly answered.

"Good morning, Jay." Alex started to pace slowly back and forth, getting a worried look from her maid Sofia who was walking to the kitchen. Alex smiled and just waved her off. Sofia then continued on her way into the kitchen.

"Hi, Alex. It's good to hear from you." It wasn't just good but Jamie was ecstatic to hear from her.

"Hey…uh, I just wanted to give you a call…finally. I've been so busy lately and I'm sorry I didn't return your call sooner." Alex was actually scared of what Jamie would say. She was afraid of disappointing her.

"It's okay, Alex, I understand. I've been thinking of you, a lot, actually."

"You have?" Alex asked.

"Of course I have. Do you think I would actually forget about you? I've been wondering how you've been."

Alex finally let out a relieved breath.

"I've been good, Jay. Every day has been stressful but that's how it is in this type of work. I just have to deal with it. Anyway enough about me, what are you up to today?"

Jamie was still sitting on the couch, the TV was showing the news and she was still in her robe.

"Nothing really. I have absolutely nothing to do today."

"Well how would you like to spend a few hours with yours truly?"

"I would like that a lot, Alex."

"Great, I'll be right over. What's your address?"

Jamie gave Alex her address and directions on how to get to her house. Once they hung up, Jamie ran to take a quick shower and once out, put on a wife beater and sweats. Her hair was down in wet strands around her shoulders as she tried to dry it as much as possible with her towel.

Then her doorbell rang. Jamie looked at herself quickly in the mirror and knew she wouldn't have any time to put on makeup. The doorbell rang again as Jamie quickly walked to the front door. She opened the door for Alex who was holding a motorcycle helmet and looked like she had just walked out of a Maxim magazine shoot. She was wearing a black fitted, leather, army styled bike jacket with jeans that had rips in all the right places.

"Hey." That was all Jamie could say as she continued to stare. Alex noticed Jamie openly checking her out and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you okay, Jay?" Alex smiled, gently lifting Jamie's head up so she could look directly at her. Jamie blinked a few times, nodding as her face turned pink.

"Yeah…I'm sorry…I'm being rude, I don't know what's gotten into me. Come in, come in." Jay opened the door wider and stepped aside as Alex walked in. Alex looked around the large but simple house, and she liked it, it was definitely Jay. Jamie walked up to Alex, pointing to her helmet.

"You rode a motorcycle here?" she went to take the helmet out of Alex's hand. "May I?"

Alex nodded, handing the helmet to Jamie.

"I like to ride early in the morning sometimes when no one is up yet. The weather outside right now is beautiful, perfect riding conditions."

"I remember you always wanted a motorcycle. You used to say you wanted to feel the wind up close and personal." Jamie smiled and placed the helmet on her coffee table.

Alex turned towards Jamie and laughed.

"I can't believe you remember that." Alex proceeded to take off her riding jacket, and it was also taken out of her hands as Jamie placed it on the coffee table next to the helmet.

"How could I forget, you were saving up to get one. Did you ever buy it?" Jamie had her hands resting on her hips in a curious pose.

Alex shook her head. "After High School graduation I didn't feel like buying one anymore."

Jamie walked up to Alex; she could smell her perfume and the scent of the morning sun on Alex's skin. Jamie just wanted to kiss Alex and forget about the past. She wanted to live in the present, which was currently there, with Alex.

Alex looked down at Jamie. "What is it?"

To Alex's surprise, Jamie wrapped her arms around her waist and laid her head against her chest. Alex closed her eyes and wrapped her own arms around Jamie.

"Are you feeling okay, Jay?" Alex asked.

Jamie nodded against her chest.

"I missed you."

Alex smiled and caressed Jamie's back.

"I missed you too sweetheart."

Jamie pulled away slightly and her hands went to Alex's face as she pulled her down for a kiss. Alex didn't stop her as she pulled Jamie closer to her. Their lips met softly and Alex breathed Jamie in. She loved the taste and the feel of Jamie's mouth. Alex opened up to Jamie's searching tongue as the kiss turned heated. Jamie started to lead them both to one of the couches as they continued to kiss. They were both breathing hard and Jamie needed to take a breath for a second, she pulled back slowly from Alex's lips, and pushed her onto the couch. Alex's eyes were half lidded and she was feeling tingles all over her body. When Jamie pushed her down on the couch she laid back, her head resting on one of the large microfiber pillows. Jamie straddled Alex and Alex instinctively put her hands on Jamie's waist.

Jamie leaned back down to kiss Alex again and they both met half way for the kiss. They kissed hungrily; Jamie tightly pressed against Alex's warm body. Alex's hands traveled underneath Jamie's tee, stroking her back and found that Jamie was not wearing a bra. Alex knew at that point she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. Jamie gently tugged on Alex's lower lip then trailed kisses down her neck. Alex opened her eyes as Jamie nipped and kissed her neck. With her hands still under Jamie's tee, she started to slowly move them over her abdomen. Jamie lifted herself up a little to give Alex more access and Alex knew Jamie wanted her touch.

Alex slid her hands over soft flesh that immediately hardened under her touch as Jamie moaned against Alex's neck. Alex continued to softly squeeze and caress Jamie's breasts and found Jamie's lips again to kiss. Jamie pulled back and sat up, against Alex. She quickly removed her tee and enjoyed the look of pure passion on Alex's face.

"You're beautiful, Jay." Alex was breathing hard and sat up as she took off her own shirt and then bra. With Jamie straddling her lap she pulled her closer and their bare skin touched for the first time in years. They both moaned, enjoying the feel of skin on skin contact.

"I love you, Jamie." Alex whispered as she backed away slightly to look into Jamie's eyes. Jamie smiled, her eyes reflecting the morning sun outside the window.

"I love you too, Alex." She caressed Alex's face; which was flushed.

Alex took Jamie's hand and kissed it softly.

"Do you want to take this further, Jay?"

"I do. I want you." Jamie kissed Alex and got up from Alex's lap. Alex looked at her in question.

"Come on." Jamie took Alex's hand as she led her to the bedroom, which was contemporarily decorated and had a warm feeling to it, like coming home. Alex slipped out of her shoes and unzipped her jeans, letting them fall to the floor. Jamie had already taken her pants completely off, along with her underwear. Jamie slowly walked to Alex and slid her hands down over Alex's underwear, pulling them down as Alex stepped out of them. Alex hugged Jamie close to her, closing her eyes at Jamie's scent.

"Fuck, you smell so good."

Jamie chuckled, kissing Alex's collarbone.

"Already talking dirty, Alex?"

Alex led Jamie backwards to the bed while kissing her. Soon the back of Jamie's legs were touching the edge of the bed forcing her to sit down with her legs open as Alex made herself comfortable in between them. Alex pushed Jamie completely down on the bed and they started a slow dance against each other. They enjoyed familiarizing themselves all over again with each others bodies. They grabbed, caressed, kissed, and fed off of each other like hungry vampires that hadn't had a meal in decades. Everything was finally right in the world for both women and nothing existed but them.

xxxxxx

Alex's body was resting comfortably underneath the sheets while she listened to Jamie's soft breathing. Alex stroked Jamie's hair as she slept against her shoulder and turned to look at her when she felt Jamie stir.

Jamie was looking up at her, a content look on her face.

"Hey." Alex whispered.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Jamie asked.

"About thirty minutes."

Jamie slowly sat up, the sheet slowly falling away from her shoulders and she blushed as Alex's gaze traveled over her exposed body. Jamie grabbed at the sheet to cover herself but Alex stopped her.

"It's a little too late for that, Jay." Alex leaned in and gave Jamie's shoulder a kiss and then gave Jamie a kiss.

"You were wonderful." Alex Whispered.

Jamie leaned back and smiled.

"Well I'm glad to see I could still make you feel good." Jamie stated.

Alex ran her fingers through Jamie's hair, looking at her with a warm, azure gaze.

"You've always made me feel good." Alex gave her one last peck on the lips and started to get up.

Jamie was slightly disappointed and pulled the sheets over herself this time.

"Do you have to go?"

Alex looked back at Jamie with a smile on her face as she walked seductively and fully naked to the bathroom that was in the bedroom. Jamie noticed two intricate tattoos on Alex's upper back that she didn't notice earlier, and mentally noted to ask her about them later.

"No, I don't have anywhere to be right now, Jay. But you and me are going for a ride as soon as we're done freshening up."

Jamie shook her head, a stubborn look plastered on her face.

"I'm not riding on a motorcycle, Alex. They're too fast and they don't have seat belts."

Jamie got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom when she heard no response from Alex. She then heard the shower turn on and walked in as Alex stepped under the running water.

"Are you going to join me or what?" Alex asked, peeking her head around the glass shower door.

Jamie smiled and also stepped into the shower next to Alex.

"Did you hear what I said?" Jamie asked.

Alex let the water run down her face as she turned around to look at Jamie.

"Yes, I did, and if you weren't safe I wouldn't let you ride with me. You'll be fine, Jay."

"You have to promise not to drive fast."

"Only if the paparazzi find me." Alex smiled.

"So what, isn't that what happens when you're a big star?" Jamie laughed. Alex rolled her eyes at that remark and leaned down to give Jamie a kiss.

"You're the star, Jay, and I promise I will not drive fast."

Jamie smiled as they both continued to try and freshen up and keep their hands off of each other.

xxxxxx

Once they were done showering, they quickly got dressed to go out and ride. Jamie locked the door behind her as they walked out to Alex's bike, which was parked right next to her own car. The motorcycle was a crotch rocket styled bike and it had a glossy black and chrome color finish and looked like something straight out of an action movie. Jamie noticed that there was another helmet hooked onto the bike seat. It was also black and Jamie turned to look at Alex.

"Did you have plans all along to take me for a ride on this thing?" Jamie smiled with her hands on her hips.

Alex nodded putting her own helmet over her head. She flipped up the tinted visor and picked up the other helmet.

"I planned to take you for a ride because I knew you would enjoy it," Alex smiled and held the helmet out to Jamie. "This is yours now, it has a radio inside if you want to listen to music, and it also has a receiver so that you and I can communicate without getting bugs in our teeth."

Jamie took the helmet and slid it over her head. It fit her perfectly and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I feel like some sort of super hero with this on."

Alex laughed with her and adjusted Jamie's helmet to make sure it was on properly.

"You look great, Jay. Are you ready to have some fun?" Alex had a twinkle in her eye as she rubbed her palms together.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Jamie said nervously.

Alex sat down on the bike first and took Jamie's hand to bring her closer to her.

"You'll do great. Now, all you have to do is lift your leg over and wrap your arms around me or hang onto my belt."

Jamie lifted her leg to sit down on the bike and wrapped her arms tightly around Alex's waist. Jamie also found the area where she could place her feet and have some sort of balance while she held on.

"Okay, I'm ready." Jamie whispered into the helmets receiver.

"Are you sure?" Alex rubbed Jamie's arms that were around her waist to try and sooth her nervousness.

"Yup, I'm okay."

Alex nodded and revved up the motorcycle. To Jamie's surprise it wasn't loud at all but had more of a buzzing sound to it as she backed out of the driveway.

They were heading slowly down Jamie's neighborhood road, which was still fairly quiet. The mixture of large trees and palm trees passed them at a steady pace. Jamie continued to hold on tightly as they reached the light to the main road and intersection.

"How are you doing so far?" Alex asked.

Jamie could hear Alex's voice clearly inside her helmet and jumped slightly as it broke her away from the sounds of traffic passing by.

"I'm good. Just enjoying the scenery from here." Jamie nervously laughed but gave Alex a reassuring squeeze around her waist to let her know she was truly fine.

Alex turned left at the light once it changed and sped up. They rode through Sunset Boulevard and onto Rodeo Drive, passing the fancy shops and tourists who were aching to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. Jamie took in her surroundings and actually enjoyed the wind against her body. She never went through Sunset Boulevard on a motorcycle before and she felt empowered as she felt the low roar of the bike underneath her.

"So where are we headed?" Jamie asked.

Alex smiled behind her visor and Jamie could hear it in her voice.

"I'm not going to tell you, sweetheart. Just enjoy the ride."

Jamie smiled and suddenly recognized her surroundings. They were now riding through Beverly Hills and she couldn't help but stare at the large mansions that they passed. The neighborhood looked like it was definitely a very nice place to live. They continued riding for another ten minutes until they turned onto a road with large silver and gold gates now facing them. Alex drove up to the gates and stopped at the security check. A large guard walked out of the small building, curiously checking out the two people on the motorcycle, Alex lifted her visor up.

"Just me, Brad."

Brad curtly nodded and walked into the building again. The gates slowly opened and Alex flipped her visor back down. She revved the bike up and drove through, passing the gates. They continued to pass large mansions on both sides as they drove down a long winding road. The bike shifted as they started to go up another winding road that hid more mansions behind the trees. Jamie couldn't help but wonder if they were in Alex's neighborhood. They finally reached an area where there weren't that many houses anymore and each house was separated by large, beautiful, amounts of land. They stopped in front of another large set of gates and Alex stopped next to a dialing pad where she proceeded to enter numbers. As expected, the gates opened and then closed behind them as they rode up a long, bricked driveway.

"Is this where you live, Alex?" Jamie asked, in awe of her surroundings.

"Yes it is. Are you enjoying the scenery?"

"I'm _loving_ the scenery." Jamie smiled. They continued up the driveway, passing tall, lush, palm trees and greenery everywhere she looked. Then Jamie looked ahead of her and saw a large beautiful house surrounded by trees. Jamie did not expect to see a house so large and so elegant. Alex pressed a button on her bike as she drove around the driveway to her garage that was slowly opening. She parked the bike inside and lifted herself off, taking off her helmet. She then helped Jamie off the bike and placed both helmets on the seat.

Jamie looked around and saw that Alex had three more motorcycles and two cars. The garage was huge and had space for at least two more cars, if needed.

Alex walked up to Jamie and tucked a lock of her hair behind Jamie's ear.

"Did you enjoy the ride?" Alex asked.

Jamie looked up at Alex and nodded.

"I actually did, surprisingly. I enjoyed it a lot. The speed, the engine, the freedom." Jamie explained animatedly.

"I knew you would like it, Jay." Alex leaned down and placed a kiss on Jamie's lips, she brought her closer to her body and Jamie instantly melted into her. Alex then kissed her forehead and softly touched Jamie's hair.

"Thank you." Jamie whispered.

"For what?"

"For everything. It's all so…wonderful." Jamie breathed in and then looked back at the bike. "I want you to teach me how to ride one of these."

Alex looked surprised as she pulled away from Jamie.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I can do that. I'll teach you everything I know about how to ride." Alex patted the seat of the other bike that was behind her and wiggled her eyebrows.

Jamie lightly slapped Alex's arm.

"You know what I meant, Alex."

Alex laughed and took Jamie's hand as she led her inside her home.

"Come on, I want to show you around." Alex said.

"What, you mean this isn't your house here?" Jamie joked, talking about the garage.

Alex laughed as they walked inside. The garage led them into a hallway that had framed posters of every movie that Alex had been in. Once they entered the main part of the house Jamie couldn't believe her eyes. There was a large staircase leading up to a second floor, everything was so open and looked brand new. They passed a case hanging on a wall that held all of Alex's Oscars and other awards. There were pictures of Alex with different celebrities and people Jamie didn't even recognize, all over the house.

Alex led them both to her kitchen where her cook was busy slicing vegetables.

"Are you hungry, Jay?" Alex asked, concerned.

"No, not yet. Thanks."

They walked through the kitchen into another room that had a large television and plenty of cozy furniture that looked inviting to sit on. This area of the house was less fancy and more comfortable. Walking quickly towards them, a short stubby woman stopped in front of them to speak to Alex, with a smile on her face.

"Alex, I knew I heard you come in. I tried calling you earlier but it went straight to your voicemail." Sofia explained.

Alex looked at Jamie and smiled at both women.

"I'm sorry Sofia, I was a little busy." Alex pointed to Jamie to introduce her.

"This is Jamie, Jamie this is Sofia. She helps me with the house."

"Nice to meet you." Sofia slightly bowed her head in greeting.

"Nice to meet you too, Sofia." Jamie smiled.

"What did you need to tell me, Sofia?" Alex inquired.

"Oh, yes, there are guests here to see you. They're in the formal room, waiting."

Alex looked at Sofia curiously. She wasn't expecting any guests today.

"Who's here?" Alex asked, annoyance in her voice this time.

Sofia shuffled nervously on her feet.

"Cindy is here with two other people."

"Cindy? Why is she here? I didn't say she could be here today." Alex expressed, angry.

"She told me that you were expecting her."

There was silence; Alex didn't feel like arguing today. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. Alex looked at Sofia and slightly smiled.

"Thank you, Sofia. Tell them I'll be there in a minute."

Sofia walked out of the family room and disappeared around the corner. Alex turned to Jamie who had been quietly contemplating the exchange between Sofia and Alex. She didn't understand how someone could enter a house uninvited and assume it was okay.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I had no idea she was coming here. Otherwise I would've taken us somewhere else." Alex lifted Jamie's hand to her mouth and kissed it.

"It's okay. I know who you are and I know that you are always going to have people coming and going. But this one looks a little unexpected."

There was the sound of laughter that traveled to the family room and Alex rolled her eyes. It was Cindy's high pitched voice that always got to her and made her cringe.

"Do you want to continue to look around while I get rid of them?" Alex asked.

Jamie laughed and nodded.

"Sure, hopefully I don't get lost in this place." Jamie stated.

"You won't. I remember you being the one that had the great sense of direction." Alex said, matter-of-factly.

"We'll see about that."

Alex gave Jamie a soft kiss, lightly squeezing her hand.

"I'll be right back, Jay."

xxxxxx

Alex walked stoically to the formal room and saw Cindy and two other women sitting on one of the couches drinking wine and laughing. Alex cleared her throat to get their attention.

Cindy looked up quickly with a large smile on her face.

"Alex, my love, there you are." Cindy handed the glass of wine to one of the girls.

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were expecting me, especially in my own home. I didn't invite you here, Cindy." Alex crossed her arms and stared at her with eyes as cold as ice.

Cindy put her hands on her hips and pouted.

"Come on now, Alex. Don't be like that. Okay maybe I told a little white lie to your cleaning lady but that's only because I needed to see you." Cindy stated.

"I saw you yesterday, Cindy. We did an interview together. What do you really want?"

Cindy took a few steps closer to Alex, whispering her next answer.

"You know what I want, Alex. I've always wanted you, and I know you feel the same way." Cindy looked up into Alex's eyes and touched Alex's waist.

Cindy's friends weren't paying attention to the exchange because they were too much into their cell phones and shopping talk. Alex lowered her arms and took a step towards Cindy.

"I don't know how to get it through your head, I don't feel that way about you. What you and I had together was a very long time ago. Now, I want you to leave and don't forget to take your friends with you." Alex continued to stare coldly down at Cindy who still had her arm on Alex's waist.

"It's okay, Alex, I understand. I'm sorry I assumed." Cindy replied, softly.

Alex looked confused at Cindy's change of tone. She was expecting an argument, like they always had.

Cindy motioned for the women sitting on the couch to get up.

"I'll walk you out." Alex said as she started to walk them to the front door.

Once they reached the front of the house the two girls walked outside first without a backwards glance, leaving Cindy still standing in front of Alex.

"I'll see you at the premiere on Friday?" Cindy questioned.

Alex nodded her head, nonchalantly. She was trying very hard to be civil to Cindy.

Unexpectedly, Cindy caressed Alex's dark hair, winked at her and turned to walk to a waiting limousine that she had not noticed earlier, she definitely needed to talk to security about this. Alex slammed the door shut and turned around to see Jamie standing by the stairwell.

"Was that Cindy?" Jamie asked.

"Yes… it was." Alex nodded, walking towards Jamie.

"Is she always so touchy-feely?" Jamie asked, wondering what Alex would tell her.

"You saw that." Alex stated.

Jamie nodded slightly and suddenly felt insecure.

"She's beautiful, Alex."

"What do you mean by that, Jay?" Alex asked.

Jamie inhaled slowly, a question on her lips. Did she really want to ask?

Alex stared at Jamie waiting for her to say something.

"Jay?"

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Jamie finally blurted out.

Alex's eyes widened, surprised at the question.

"What, feelings for Cindy? You got all of that from her touching my hair." Alex stated. She was slightly annoyed at the question. Hadn't she expressed her love for Jamie enough for it to stick?

Jamie was surprised at the way Alex had answered her. She wasn't expecting the smartass answer or the conceded look that suddenly plastered on Alex's face.

"I…it was…I was just curious, Alex. Look, I'm still trying to see where I fit in with you, and all of this." Jamie quickly stated.

"Have I given you some sort of doubt about us, because I thought I was being perfectly clear," Alex's emotions were getting the best of her. She was bringing her annoyance of Cindy's unexpected visit into their conversation and throwing it at Jamie. She couldn't stop herself from saying what she was about to say next.

"How many times do we have to sleep with each other for you to understand?" Alex knew she had made a mistake as soon as it left her mouth. She knew she had hurt Jamie, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Jamie's face changed immediately. She felt a rush of embarrassment go through her and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"I don't know who you are right now, Alex. And I don't appreciate you talking to me like I'm some…some stranger that you wanted to test drive. Why are you acting like this?"

When Jamie asked her that one question, Alex didn't know how to answer it herself. She wanted to take everything she had said back. Alex didn't know why she had responded so harshly to Jamie in the first place. She slowly walked up to Jamie so she could touch her.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I…I didn't mean any of that. I was taken aback by the question about Cindy and I felt like you were doubting my feelings for you. I love you, Jay. I'm so sorry." Alex whispered, sincerely.

Jamie looked up at Alex, not trusting her own emotions. She had been through worse with her last relationship and didn't want this one to be that way too.

"Your attitude completely changed a minute ago and I don't remember you ever being that way. Just because you're a big celebrity now doesn't mean that I don't deserve the same respect that you used to give me. Maybe you're used to getting your way, Alex, but I'm still the same person that I was and I'm not going to take your celebrity ego bullshit."

Jamie was standing her ground and she wanted to get that point across to Alex.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I'm sorry if I hurt you." Alex pleaded.

Jamie looked up at Alex, who looked pained and uncomfortable in her own skin. She walked up to Alex and softly touched her face.

"I want to be with you, Alex, I do, but I want to be with the person I used to know. I know you've been through a lot but I want to be there for you."

Alex nodded and leaned her head down, nuzzling Jamie's hair.

"You're special to me, Jay. I just want you to know that." Alex whispered.

"I know." Jamie hugged Alex tightly, resting her head on Alex's chest.

"And you're so much more beautiful than Cindy. She has nothing on you sweetheart."

Jamie looked up at Alex, smiling. She lifted up on her toes and kissed Alex softly.

"I'm sorry that I sounded like I was doubting you. When I saw Cindy touch your hair like that I just thought-" Jamie couldn't finish as Alex spoke over her.

"I understand, Jay. Cindy and I were over a long time ago and truthfully we never really had anything. I was into drugs and she was there helping fuel my addiction at the time. It was convenient." Alex explained.

"What made you turn to using drugs?" Jamie asked.

"It's Hollywood, Jay, everyone is using. At the after parties you can find cocaine served to you on a platter." Alex confessed.

Jamie's eyes opened wide in shock.

"You can't be serious." She stated.

"I used to have those type of parties…in this house." Alex said matter-of-factly.

"What made you stop?" Jamie wanted to know what turned the intelligent girl she knew into such a troubled woman.

Alex looked down and took a deep breath.

"Can we talk about this later, Jay?" Alex was feeling uncomfortable and just wanted to spend this time with Jamie. She didn't want to talk about her past.

Jamie looked up at Alex and nodded.

"Okay."

Alex smiled and took Jamie's hand.

"Come on, I want to show you something."

Alex walked with Jamie upstairs, hand in hand.

To be continued in part 6


	6. Chapter 6

It was mid-afternoon and Alex had been showing Jamie around her home. Jamie could never imagine having such a big house to herself. The cathedral ceilings and the tall doors made Jamie feel like she was a princess in a fancy castle. As they were slowly walking down one of the halls on the second floor, Alex noticed that Jamie had gotten quiet and seemed to be deep in thought.

"What are you thinking of?" Alex asked as they continued down the hall. Jamie looked at Alex with a slight smile on her face.

"I was just thinking how this place makes me feel." Jamie answered.

Alex's eyebrows raised, her expression silently asking a question.

"It makes me feel like I'm a princess." Jamie finished.

Alex couldn't hold back the grin that was growing on her face. She had never thought of herself in that way when she first purchased the house. Sometimes the house seemed too large and lonely for Alex, she never felt like a princess. Alex, very rarely had family come over to her home, and the only people that came in and out were either reporters or people working for her. All of those things could make a beautiful home seem very lonely.

Alex gestured to a door that they stopped in front of.

"So, this is what I wanted to show you." Alex stated with a hint of excitement.

"I'm assuming it's behind this door." Jamie said as she pointed to it.

Alex nodded, opening the door for Jamie. Behind the door were stairs that spiraled up to another floor, and with every step Jamie's curiosity grew. As she made it to the last few steps she heard the faint sound of birds. She turned, giving a curious glance, to look at Alex who motioned her to continue. Jamie laughed, opened the door and was surprised at what she saw. The stairs had led them to the roof of Alex's home. There was a large telescope, almost as large as the ones that you would see at science centers, and it seemed to be built directly into the roof.

Jamie couldn't believe that after so many years Alex was still interested in the stars. Jamie slowly walked to the telescope and admired how it seemed to sparkle under the sun's light.

"This is amazing, Alex." Jamie whispered, astounded.

Alex had a look of pride on her face as she walked up next to Jamie and pointed at something inscribed on the metal. "Check this out, Jay." Alex said, with pent up excitement.

Jamie looked closer and saw what Alex was pointing to. Jamie's name was inscribed on the telescope. She looked up at Alex with a smile on her face.

"You named it after me?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, after I got one of my first big paychecks I decided to go all out and buy something I knew would last a lifetime. And yes, I named it after you." Alex said, shyly.

"You are just full of surprises, aren't you?" Jamie laughed. That's when she noticed the rest of her surroundings. Alex's house was so close to the Hollywood sign, Jamie had never seen it that close before. The view from the roof was excellent and made Jamie feel like she was on top of the world.

"I love it up here" Jamie glanced at Alex, "Are you going to show me your jet now?" She stated sarcastically.

"I'll show you that later." Alex grinned, mischievously.

Jamie's mouth opened, but no words came out. All she could do was playfully slap Alex on her arm. Alex laughed at the look Jamie was giving her and gently took Jamie's hand as they both walked back inside.

With Jamie's hand still in hers, they walked through the hall and down the marble staircase. It was Alex's turn to be lost in her thoughts, when she decided to finally say what she wanted and needed to say. _Just spit it out, Alex! This is Jay, only Jamie._ Alex took a deep breath after mentally arguing with herself.

"I'd like for you to go to the premiere with me on Friday." Alex said. It ended up coming out as a request instead of a question. Alex inwardly winced, and she quietly waited for a response.

Jamie's expression turned to one of surprise because she wasn't expecting that to come out at all. Well, she had secretly hoped that Alex would invite her to the premiere and here she was, standing at the bottom of the staircase with her hands in Alex's. Jamie noticed that Alex was looking at her with her head slightly cocked to the side, as if she could coax an answer out of her.

"Well?" Alex asked.

 **March 1997**

 _"_ _You're asking me to go to the prom with you?" Jamie asked, a huge smile starting to grow on her face._

 _Alex stood in front of Jamie during their school lunch hour. She was surprised, yet proud of herself for having the guts to ask Jamie out to the prom. The dance was in mid-April and she really wanted Jamie to be her date. Alex saw the smile on Jamie's face and took that as a good sign, but she was still nervous. Her fingers automatically went to her mouth as she started to bite her fingernails. Jamie quickly noticed and reached out, taking Alex's hand away from her mouth._

 _"_ _Stop that." Laughed Jamie._

 _"_ _Well?" Alex asked, getting more nervous by the second._

 _Jamie nodded and hugged Alex tightly. "Of course I'll go to the prom with you." She whispered. Alex was proud of herself because she now had her date for the prom._

 _"_ _Awesome. I've been wanting to ask you that for weeks." Alex said, letting go of Jamie._

 _"_ _Why were you so nervous? You knew my answer would be, yes. I'm your girlfriend, so my answer will always be, yes." Jamie playfully shoved Alex with her shoulder._

 _Alex shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal. "You never know." She said._

 _"_ _If you didn't ask me sooner or later, I was going to ask you. It's our last year in High School, so we have to go to our prom." Jamie stated matter-of-factly as she took a bite of her granola bar._

 _The bell rang loudly, signifying that lunchtime was over. Alex picked up her backpack and smiled at Jamie, "See you after school by the stop sign?"_

 _Jamie nodded, her mouth too full of granola to answer with words. She handed Alex the rest of her granola bar and watched as Alex placed it in her pocket. Alex winked at Jamie before they both walked their separate ways to their next class._

Alex continued to look at Jamie, waiting for her answer.

"Wow, this is all so surprising, Alex. I would love to go with you." Jamie said, smiling.

Alex let go of Jamie's hands and released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Great! That's great." Alex nodded.

"What do you wear to an event like that?" Jamie asked as a worried look appeared on her face.

Alex had completely forgotten about that part. She already had her suit for the premiere and it was ready to go for Friday. Alex gently put her hands on Jamie's shoulders and gave her a confidant smile. "You don't have to worry about that, Jay. I'll take care of it."

"Is it okay if I bring my friend Clarissa? She would love to be part of something like this." Jamie said.

"Sure, she can come too." Alex said, smiling.

Clarissa was going to be ecstatic when Jamie gave her the news about attending the premiere. Clarissa was already a huge fan of Alex's work and would probably have a heart attack with the news. Jamie chuckled at the thought.

"What are you laughing at?" Alex asked, curious.

"Clarissa's reaction when I tell her about going to the premiere. She loves you, well, your work and what you do."

"Well that's always a good thing, I love my fans." Alex said, standing a little bit straighter.

Alex's cell phone chirped in her pocket and she answered it with a smile on her face.

"Hi Steven, what's up?" She took Jamie's hand again and led them to the kitchen where Sofia was placing food on the counter and signaled them to come over. Alex nodded and led Jamie by the small of her back to the counter. Sofia took Jamie's hand and made her sit down to eat. Jamie turned to Alex and found her making hand gestures to Sofia. She turned back to Sofia, who smiled, and continued to put more food in front of her.

"You're coming tomorrow, right?" Alex asked Steven.

"Of course I am. My flight comes in Friday morning." Steven said.

"Good. I have a favor to ask you." Alex continued.

"What's that?"

"Jamie is coming with me to the premiere and she needs something to wear."

"I can take her tomorrow morning to Rodeo and we can do some shopping." Steven stated.

"You won't be too tired from your flight?" She asked.

"This is what I do, it's my job to make you happy, Alex."

"You're my best friend, Steven." She smiled.

"Yeah, that too. Wait, aren't you going with Cindy to the premiere?" Steven asked.

Alex closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We're going in separate cars. I refuse to ride in a car with her."

Steven laughed because he hated Cindy too. "Okay, well, I'll see you Friday morning."

"Alright, Bye." After hanging up, Alex walked towards Jamie and Sofia, who were both quietly talking to each other.

Jamie turned, sensing Alex behind her.

"Oh my God, Alex, you have to taste this. It's unbelievable!" Jamie said with enthusiasm. She pointed to a few dumplings that were on a plate. Alex took one, bit into it and grinned.

"You made this, Sofia?" Alex asked.

"Yes, you've had those before, Alexandra." Sofia stated with her hands on her hips.

"I think I would have remembered these." Alex mumbled as she chewed on her dumpling.

Sofia waved Alex away from the dumplings. "Those are for Jamie."

Jamie laughed at both women as she popped another dumpling in her mouth. "These are fantastic." She mumbled.

Alex sat next to Jamie and watched her as she ate. "Steven is coming tomorrow morning to pick you up and take you shopping."

Jamie swallowed before talking again. "He's okay with doing that? I don't want to be a burden on him."

"You're not a burden. It's really his job and he's also doing this as my friend." Alex said.

"Where are we going?" Jamie asked.

"You and Steven are going to Rodeo drive, there's a lot of nice shops there."

Jamie almost choked on the water she was sipping, "Rodeo drive?!"

Alex nodded, innocently, as she checked the calendar on her phone.

"You really don't have to, Alex, really."

Alex looked up from her phone and gave Jamie the smile that she had seen countless of times on magazine covers. It was a smile that hypnotized you and would pull you in. Jamie knew that smile probably got Alex many things in her life. It was beautiful.

"I want to, Jay. Steven will find you something great to wear. Don't leave without Clarissa." Alex said, taking one of Jamie's hands in her own. Jamie couldn't stop staring at Alex's mouth and she knew she couldn't say no.

"Okay." Jamie whispered.

Friday morning found Jamie sleeping soundly until a loud chirping caused her to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to figure out what the noise was that woke her up. The chirping continued and Jamie finally realized it was her cell phone. She managed to crawl across her bed and to her phone, which was slowly spinning in circles as it pulsated with the ringing on her night table. The brightly lit screen showed that it was Clarissa and she cleared her throat before answering.

"Hi, Clar."

"That's all I get? Well, good morning, Jamie." Clarissa said sarcastically.

"You woke me up, I'm tired." Jamie whined.

"You wouldn't be so tired if your girlfriend didn't keep you up all night."

"That's all you think about, Clar. You're always thinking about sex, and for your information, I'll have you know that she didn't sleep with me here. She dropped me off yesterday." Jamie said.

" Okay, I believe you, for now…and I can't stop thinking of sex because I'm not getting any. I'm a waste of air, a waste of a perfectly warm, human body. Can I have Alex? She's hot."

Jamie shook her head slowly and couldn't stop herself from smirking at Clarissa's antics.

"You also need to wake up because we have a long day today that consists of Rodeo drive and all of it's glory. So get ready!" Clarissa stated excitedly.

"I know, I know. I'm hanging up now." Jamie said through a yawn.

"See you in a few." And the line went dead.

Jamie threw the phone on her pillow and forced herself up from her nice, cozy resting place. Alex had taken her home yesterday after she had gotten another call from a producer that needed her at his office. They always seemed to get interrupted by a phone call. So much had happened in the last few days and Jamie hadn't really had the time to fully process it all. As she took off her clothes in the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror and stopped.

"Oh my God…I had sex with Alex." She whispered to her reflection. She steadied herself on the bathroom counter, looking down at her hands. Her thoughts were running wild with everything that occurred between them. _I don't even really know her anymore…what does this mean…the sex was great, but I don't know her. How could I be so easy? Alex probably thinks I'm easy now. I'm nobody and she's a huge…huge celebrity._

Jamie closed her eyes, willing her thoughts to slow down. She didn't want to get hurt again, not by Alex or anyone else.

"I'm good…I can do this." Jamie nodded and finished undressing.

A few minutes later the house door opened and Clarissa stepped in announcing herself.

"Jamie, I'm here!" She heard the shower running and figured Jamie was still getting ready.

Clarissa sat down on the living room couch and glanced at her watch. "It never fails, she's always late." She then heard the shower turn off, and jumped up from her seat. She walked down the short hall to Jamie's room and leaned against the doorway. Jamie walked out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and her body wrapped snug in a larger towel. She turned to go to her closet and let out a surprised scream as she jumped, startled, when she saw Clarissa standing there just staring at her.

"What the hell, Clar!" Jamie said with her hand on her chest. Clarissa bent over, holding her stomach and couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"You jumped so high, and the look on your face was…priceless!" She said between laughter.

Jamie took the towel off of her head and threw it at Clarissa. It landed at Clarissa's feet which made her laugh even more.

"I hate you. Just because I gave you a key to my house doesn't mean you can sneak around and scare the crap out of me." Jamie shook her head as a smile grew across her face.

"Sorry, Jamie. Won't happen again. Hurry up and get ready, I want to shop!" Clarissa said, short of breath as she walked back to the living room still laughing but trying to catch her breath.

Jamie grabbed her phone off the bed and saw that she had a text message. It was from Steven, letting her know that he was on his way. She removed the remaining towel and hurried through her closet.

Once Jamie was done getting ready she walked to her living room where Clarissa was spread out on her couch. She needed her friends opinion on what she was wearing. What did one wear when shopping in Beverly Hills?

"Hey." Jamie said, getting Clarissa's attention.

Clarissa turned around and looked at Jamie curiously.

"What do my clothes say to you?" Jamie asked.

"They say that you're a rock star who's sleeping with a super star." Clarissa smiled.

Jamie rolled her eyes and waved her off. "Why do I ask you these things?" Jamie asked as she sat down.

"Okay fine, you look great. You always look good. In fact, you look… sexy." Clarissa whispered, leaning into Jamie.

"Really?" Jamie asked innocently.

"Yes, really." Clarissa nodded just as Jamie's doorbell rang.

"That's Steven!" Jamie stood up and ran to the door. Clarissa's smile faded and she shook her head, not believing what she had told Jamie. She knew Jamie didn't notice her that way. She didn't notice the looks Clarissa would give her when she wasn't looking. They were best friends but she had always wanted more, even when she denied it. _You're so stupid, Clarissa. She doesn't love you like that._

"Hey Clar, come here." Jamie said from the doorway. Clarissa plastered a smile on her face as she walked towards the two.

Steven stood at the door next to Jamie with his hands on his hips and his eyes covered by large aviator sunglasses.

"This is Steven, and Steven this is my friend Clarissa." Jamie introduced the two as they shook hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Clarissa."

"Likewise, Steven."

Steven looked at both women and clasped his hands together in excitement. "Are you two ladies ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're more than ready," Jamie saw the car that was parked in the driveway, waiting for them. "This is a nice ride you have here." Jamie said. It was a bright red, nineteen fifties style, two door convertible. The top was down, showing off the black and red leather seats that reflected the morning suns light.

"Thanks, but it's not mine. It's Alex's baby and she wanted me to take you girls out on the town in it." Steven said as he allowed Clarissa in the back seat. Jamie sat in the front and Steven proceeded to start the car to finally head out.

"I didn't see this car in her garage." Jamie told Steven as they drove down the neighborhood to the main road.

"Oh yeah, that's because she usually has it covered up in the back." Steven replied.

Clarissa leaned forward in her seat so Steven and Jamie could hear her. "Where is Alex now?"

Steven looked at her through the rearview mirror as they stopped at a red light. "She's getting ready for a few interviews today before the premiere."

"She's a busy lady, huh?" Clarissa said, directing the comment at Jamie, then smiled.

"Yes, she is." Jamie said smiling back at her. She was thinking about Alex and what she was doing and how she was spending her time before this evening's event. She tried not to think about the complications, if any, from their morning together, yesterday. Why should she be worried? She still loved Alex, and she knew she was a good person, beautiful, and smart. She couldn't help but feel like there might be some sort of backlash with all of this. Jamie hoped she was wrong. She wasn't a celebrity so dealing with fallout or backlash wasn't her thing. She only knew how to motivate and make people happy with themselves, that was her job.

"So, I heard Alex took you for a ride on her motorcycle. Did you like it?" Steven asked Jamie.

"I was apprehensive at first but it was actually really fun, I enjoyed it." Jamie chuckled at herself. "I want to learn how to drive one and I'm thinking of having Alex show me." She continued.

This surprised Clarissa, who scooted forward again. "Are you serious, Jamie? Do you know how dangerous those things are?"

Steven nodded in agreement.

Jamie turned to her friend, who's mouth was open in shock. "I know… I thought they were dangerous too, but if you know how to drive one I don't see the big deal."

"Well what about the people that are driving around you? You know people here cannot drive." Clarissa stated.

"No, they can't drive at all." Steven said as he honked at another driver.

"I know that but life is short, I want to try something new." Jamie said.

Clarissa sat back again, shaking her head. "You have officially gone crazy my friend."

Jamie turned around and pointed to Clarissa. "You're not even wearing your seatbelt so shut it."

Steven laughed at both women who were now arguing about which form of transportation was safest. "Okay ladies, enough of the chit chat, we're here." He continued to park the car in front of a very upscale looking shop. Once parked they all got out of the car and followed Steven inside.

"Feel free to get whatever you want ladies, I'll be right over here." He said, as he pointed to the back of the store where a man stood, formally dressed and very clean cut.

Clarissa leaned into Jamie. "Did he say whatever…" her sentence trailed off as she spotted a beautiful gown. Jamie turned to her friend just as Clarissa walked off towards the gown. _This is going to be interesting._ Jamie thought.

Cindy was sitting next to Alex during their interview with the Los Angeles based entertainment news channel. Alex's legs were crossed in front of her, pointed away from Cindy, who was a little too close for her comfort. During the interview Cindy would lightly touch Alex's hand or knee when asked a question about their on set relationship. Alex knew she had to go along with it in order to promote the movie, and she knew it was something that went with the job and status.

"So do you two read any of the tabloids that say you two are romantically involved in real life?" The interviewer asked both women.

Alex's eyebrow rose sharply at the question and she shook her head. "No, not really. I mean every once in a while you can't escape them and you get a glance of the cover but that's all."

Cindy placed her hand on Alex's knee and laughed. "Alex and I don't read those because a lot of it is nonsense to be quite honest."

Alex smiled, but inwardly wanted to slap Cindy's hand off her knee.

"But you two were once a couple, right?" The interviewer pushed.

"Well-" Cindy was cut off by Alex before she could finish.

"That was a very long time ago." Alex stated, slightly annoyed. The interviewer nodded and seemed okay with the answer Alex gave to him.

"It was great having you two women here today and don't forget to check out their movie everyone. Now, speaking of couples, here's a clip of Alexandra and Cindy in 'The Soldiers', we'll be right back." He said, charmingly, to the camera.

The interviewer stood up as soon as the show went off-air to the clip and commercials. Alex and Cindy both stood up as well, removing their small mic's that were hidden on their clothes. The interviewer went to shake Alex's hand before she left the studio. "It was really an honor to have you here today Ms. Davenport, I know the movie will do great."

Alex nodded with a smile as she returned the handshake. He shook Cindy's hand too but she didn't want to stick around.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Alex said. She was ready to get out of that studio and go off to her next interview, away from Cindy, who had a separate interview to do herself. Alex turned to walk out but felt a hand grab her arm. Cindy was walking next to her with a mischievous smile on her face.

"What do you want, Cindy?" Alex asked, fully upset now. She shrugged her arm out of Cindy's hand and motioned her bodyguards to follow her out.

"That was a good interview, wasn't it?" Cindy asked, trying to keep up with Alex's long strides.

Alex rolled her eyes and stayed silent as she continued to walk. Cindy saw that she wasn't going to say anything and feigned sadness. "Come on Alex, baby…tell me it was good for you. We were together again, like old times."

"Get away from me, Cindy. I have nothing to say to you." Alex whispered out harshly.

Cindy grabbed a small clear vial out of her jeans pocket and put it in front of Alex's face. "Do you want a bump before your next interview?" she asked as a large smile appeared on her face.

Alex slapped the hand away from her face. "If you don't get out of my way, Cindy, I'll have you forcefully removed."

"I love the sassy attitude, honey. How does your new sex kitten like it? Does it make her squirm?" Cindy whispered before she walked off in the opposite direction. Alex's fists were tightly clenched at her sides and she wanted to hit something but resisted. She finally made it outside the studio and into the limo that was waiting for her. Once the door closed she was by herself inside and leaned her head back against the seat. She needed a breather because being so close to Cindy always made her feel like she was suffocating.

Alex had about ten minutes before they would arrive at her next interview and she already wanted to go home, get on her bike and feel the wind hitting her face. That was pure freedom and that's what she didn't have now. All of her interviews were routine, the same questions were always being asked and she would give the same answers. It almost felt scripted to her. This was the only part she hated when making a movie, the publicity she had to do. She loved the fans and she would always love them but she didn't enjoy the loneliness that came along with it. Alex wanted her family, but most of all, she wanted Jamie. She looked down at her phone and selected Jamie's name from her contact list. Even if they spoke for just two minutes, she would be happy.

To be continued in Part 7


	7. Chapter 7

Surviving the Storm

By: Alice D.

Jamie's phone rang in her pocket and she smiled at the name that showed up on the screen.

"Hi, Alex." She answered as she tried on a pair of Stiletto's. They were the fifth pair she had tried on since entering the store.

Alex was surprised at the quick response from Jamie because the phone had only rung twice.

"Hey, how's everything going?" Alex asked.

"It's going great! I think I've officially lost Clarissa to this store." Jamie laughed while watching Clarissa, who was posing in front of a mirror with a flashy handbag.

If Jamie could see Alex now, she would immediately notice the grin on the actress's face. "Have you found anything you like yet?" Alex asked.

Jamie looked down at the shoes she had on at the moment, nodding as she took a few steps towards the mirror in front of her. "Yes, I think I have actually."

Alex's smile grew wider in satisfaction, "Good! I'm glad," Alex looked out the tinted limo window and realized they had reached the next studio for her interview, "I just wanted to see how everything was going…and to say hi." Alex hesitated on her last words, feeling somewhat like an awkward teenager.

Just as Jamie was about to reply to Alex's comment, she could hear talking in the background and paused as she could hear Alex, although muffled, talking back to them. Alex brought the phone back up to her ear as she stepped out of the limo. "Jay, I have to let you go. I just got to my next interview and I'll see you later today, okay?"

"Okay, Alex." Jamie nodded.

The line disconnected and Jamie realized that Alex had quickly hung up. Jamie frowned a little and placed the phone back in her pocket. Steven, seemed to come out of nowhere as he walked up to her and started to circle her while staring at her shoes. "Those look fabulous on you, honey."

"Do you think Alex will like them?" Jamie asked. She then looked up from staring at her feet to see Steven, who was staring at her with his hands on his hips.

"What?" Jamie nervously asked. Had she said something wrong?

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Steven's arms relaxed at his sides as he waiting for Jamie to reply.

"Yeah, I'm seriously asking you, Steven. You probably know her a lot better than I do now and you've been with her for a long time. I bet you know all the little things about her. So, will she like them?" Jamie asked again, this time carefully watching Steven as he continued to openly stare.

"She'll like them on you. You've got killer legs." He stated.

Jamie slightly blushed at his comment. "Thanks. Now, what do you think of those?" She pointed to a few pieces of clothing hung up in a corner. Steven's mouth dropped at what he saw.

"Very nice, Jamie. You've got awesome taste." He nodded his approval to her.

Jamie smiled in satisfaction, she knew what she was wearing to the premiere and that's all that mattered at the moment.

The afternoon found Alex at her home in the hills, relaxing as someone applied fresh makeup to her face, while another person worked on her hair. She was on a tight schedule and was relieved that she had finished all of the interviews she needed to do that day. Alex looked down at her watch and glanced up at the front door. She had already been home for an hour and Steven hadn't returned yet. There were a lot of people in her home walking around and all for different reasons but most were helping her to get to the premiere on time. The other few were either production crew or her personal assistants. It was safe to assume that she wasn't lacking in help.

A few minutes later as Alex was getting her hair styled, Steven walked in with Jamie and Clarissa following behind. They were each carrying large bags in each hand, which forced Steven to shut the door with his foot.

"Honey, I'm home!" Steven yelled in his best Ricky Ricardo accent.

"I'm in here!" Alex yelled back, from the family room.

As they rounded the corner, Jamie and Clarissa noticed all of the random people walking around, all doing something different. Just then, Clarissa leaned in towards Jamie and mumbled something in her ear. Jamie turned to her with a questioning look, "What?" Jamie asked.

"It's like she's running a business in here. It's like…like the mall." Clarissa looked around at the group of people and felt a little intimidated. Before Jamie could respond, Alex had walked up to them.

"Nice to see you again, Clarissa." Alex genuinely greeted. Clarissa smiled shyly as her inner fan girl came out.

"Your home is huge!" Clarissa didn't know what else to say and that was the only thing that came rushing out of her mouth.

Alex laughed, "I get that a lot," and faced Jamie who was quietly checking out her surroundings, " Did you both find what you're wearing this evening?" Jamie looked up at Alex and noticed how perfect she looked. She knew why everyone was so enthralled with Alex, and why everyone craved her attention. Alex was the epitome of beauty, but Jamie always knew that. She knew before the fans and before the celebrity status.

"Jay?" Alex interrupted her thoughts and smiled as Jamie blinked a few times. Clarissa had already answered and was looking curiously at Jamie, who hadn't spoken yet.

"Oh! Yeah, I did. The store was amazing, thank you so much, Alex." Jamie felt flustered and couldn't stop from falling into Alex's deep blue eyes. _Get a hold of yourself!_ Jamie mentally kicked herself. Clarissa just stood there and rolled her eyes; she knew she was a little jealous at the attention Jamie was giving Alex.

"My pleasure, Jay," Alex called over two of her colleagues and directed them to take Jamie and Clarissa's bags, "these are two of my personal assistants and they're going to help you with anything you need to get ready."

Clarissa immediately walked off, starting to feel like the third wheel in the group. She followed one of the assistants who lead her away so she could get ready. Before Jamie could follow, Alex grabbed her hand. Jamie looked up at Alex, expecting her to say something. Instead, still holding Jamie's hand, Alex led her to the kitchen, which was currently clear of anyone. Jamie wasn't sure why Alex was taking her to the kitchen, but all of her confusion went away as Alex gently pushed her against the counter and latched onto her lips. Jamie was taken by surprise as Alex's lips softly brushed against her own and she melted into the feeling. Alex's fingers ran through Jamie's hair as the kiss slowly deepened. She could taste the lipstick on Alex's mouth as it rubbed off onto her own lips. Nothing about the kiss was forced or rushed, just pure passion as Alex pulled Jamie closer to her. Jamie's hand caressed Alex's face, her tongue slowly tasting the depths of Alex's mouth. She wasn't sure if it was a minute or ten minutes later as Alex pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"I've been wanting to do that all day." Alex whispered, slightly out of breath.

Jamie's lips tingled as she smiled at Alex's statement. They were both still pressed against each other, leaning on the counter.

"The kitchen seemed like the best place to do it?" Jamie asked, laughing.

"It was the only place I could think of at that particular moment." Alex said, smiling back at Jamie. She then looked down at Jamie's lips, which were now smeared with her lipstick.

"That's a great color on you." Alex said, trying to hold back her laughter.

Jamie rubbed her mouth with her hand, "It's all over me isn't it," Some of the lipstick now smeared on her hand, "this is your fault you know." Alex swatted Jamie's hand away and helped her take off some of the color with a napkin.

"I didn't hear you complaining." A sexy grin appeared on Alex's face. Jamie laughed and let Alex remove the lipstick for her. "There, all done." Alex said.

"You're not, give me that." Jamie said as she took the napkin from Alex's hand and started to wipe Alex's lips that were smeared with the left over lipstick. Jamie smirked, shaking her head as she wiped.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Alex asked.

"Maybe just a little bit. I guess you're going to have to get your make-up applied again." Jamie was able to get most of the color off, but anyone could tell why Alex's lips now looked a pale pink.

"All done." Jamie said, mimicking Alex's response only a minute ago. They were still against the counter and hadn't moved away from each other.

"I should probably go and get ready now." Jamie whispered, but failed to move away.

Alex nodded but also didn't move away from the warmth that was emitting between the two of them.

Jamie couldn't help herself as she slowly moved in for one more kiss. It was the most soft and loving kiss; she knew she could do this all day with Alex, but she also knew that she needed to stop. She needed to slow down especially since they had plans for the evening, and she also wanted to have more control over the situation between her and Alex. Then again she was enjoying Alex's tenderness and spontaneity.

Jamie pulled away and looked up at Alex, finding Alex's blue eyes already fixed on her own. Alex caressed Jamie's face once more, and soon after backed away too.

"You. Are. Beautiful, Jay." Alex whispered, putting emphasis on each word. She wanted to make sure Jamie knew how much she cared for her, and how much she wanted her around. Then, without waiting for a reply Alex turned and walked back to the family room to finish getting prepared for the event.

Jamie's eyes followed Alex as she disappeared around the corner, "So are you," Jamie whispered to the empty kitchen. She finally broke out of her foggy state of mind because she needed to find Clarissa. Jamie turned, and walked in the direction she saw her friend go in. She walked quickly down a corridor and heard talking coming from a room ahead. When she entered the room she saw Clarissa sitting down having her hair and makeup done.

"There you are!" Clarissa yelled.

"Sorry, I needed to talk to Alex about something." Jamie stated. She was trying not to sound too embarrassed.

"They've been waiting for you." Clarissa pointed to Alex's assistants who had neatly splayed Jamie's attire on one of the couches in the room.

Jamie went over to where the assistants stood, both looking at their cell phones.

"I'm so sorry you had to wait, but I'm ready when you guys are." Jamie said.

They both looked up at Jamie and smiled knowingly. It wasn't any of their business but they knew Alex was dating her; they knew she was just another girl on the side. It was a shame because she seemed so kind and genuine.

"No worries, lets get you set up." One of the assistants said as they guided Jamie to her dress.

While Jamie and Clarissa were getting ready for the evening, Alex was getting her makeup re-applied. Steven walked up to Alex's chair with his hands resting on his hips as Alex slightly turned to look at him, and smiled at the expression of annoyance he had on his face.

Her make-up person walked away as she finished up on Alex's lipstick to leave the two friends alone.

"What's going on, Steven?" Alex asked.

"Max is late. I flew him down from New York to be our driver tonight, and he's not here yet." Steven replied, waiting for Alex's outburst.

However, instead of getting upset Alex crossed her arms over her chest, the situation puzzling her. "Really? That never happens, he's always on time for all of my events. Have you called him?"

Steven nodded, "I've called him three times and left a message each time; I have no clue where he is."

"Don't get upset, Steven. Can you just find me another driver just in case Max doesn't show up? I'll have to talk with him afterwards and find out what's going on. This isn't like him." Alex said.

"You're telling me." Steven said as he rolled his eyes.

"So you're driving Alex and her special friend to the premiere, right?" Cindy asked Max as they both sat at the bar in her home.

"Yes, I'll be the one driving them." Max replied, glancing at Cindy as he downed a shot of hard liquor.

Cindy rolled her eyes in disgust just thinking about Alex's new girlfriend; She really wanted her gone. She wanted her out of Alex's life because Alex deserved better. Cindy was Alex's true date to the premiere, and she wanted everyone to know it.

"After this whole thing is over tonight I want you to be my driver to take me home. I'll pretend that my driver isn't available and surely Alex will let me ride with her. Then, I'm sure at that point the paparazzi will be onto us and we'll be all over the magazines seen leaving with each other." Cindy laughed at her plan and also took a quick shot, slamming it down next to Max.

Max looked at Cindy, his eyes glassy from the alcohol as he smiled back at her. He looked down at his cell phone, which had a few missed calls from Steven, and decided it was time for him to leave. Max slowly stood up, swaying just a little bit as he jumped off of the bar stool.

"Careful cowboy, I'd like Alex to get there unharmed." Cindy said, with a smirk on her face.

"I'm fine, I need to go...Alex's place. They're going to be so pissed that I haven't answered." Max replied.

"Leave then, Max." Cindy said as she waved him off. She stood up as the door closed behind Max, and walked over to a cabinet by the bar. Inside of the cabinet were small vials of white powder; this was something Cindy couldn't live without, she wouldn't. Grabbing two of them, she placed them gently between the fabric of her gown and her breasts. As she closed the cabinet a smile grew on her face. The night was going to be fantastic.

Half an hour later Jamie walked out of the dressing room she was in and slowly walked towards the family room. Her hair was pulled up elegantly, and the makeup made Jamie look flawless. As she continued to walk down the hall, her dress dragged behind her; slowly flowing with each step that she took. Once she made her way to the crowded family room, she stopped to look for Alex, not seeing her in the crowd of people.

"Hey beautiful." Alex whispered as she stood behind Jamie.

Jamie turned around, surprised at how close the voice was.

"Alex," Jamie breathed out. She smiled and took in the woman standing in front of her. Alex was wearing a strapless black gown that had two slits on each side that came all the way up to her hips, "I was just looking for you." Jamie finished.

Alex smiled as she put her hand on her hips, "Looks like I found you first, Jay," She couldn't stop staring at what Jamie was wearing, "I'm sorry, I just want to say that you look stunning." Alex said, noticing how Jamie blushed at her comment.

Jamie could feel her face getting warm at Alex's compliment and for a second she felt like that shy teenager at the party all those years ago.

"Thank you, but I think you should take a look at yourself because you were made for that dress." Jamie said as she gestured to the high slits on each side.

Alex scrunched up her face a little, shaking her head, "You know I'm not really into all of this; it's all for show. If I could wear a t-shirt with a nice pair of ripped up jeans I would."

Jamie laughed, remembering how much Alex hated dressing up when they were both teens. Alex would sometimes steal the clothes out of her brother's closet and wear them out; they were around the same size at the time, so she fit them perfectly.

Steven walked up to both women as he looked down at his watch, "Max is outside waiting. We should probably leave now."

"Okay," Alex looked down at Jamie, "Is Clarissa ready?" she asked.

Jamie nodded, looking around, "Yeah, she should be around here somewhere. She was done before I was."

"I'll go look for her and you two should probably go to the car, we're already running late." Steven said, walking off to look for Clarissa.

"I'm sorry Alex. Are you sure you don't want to go ahead without us?" Jamie asked. She didn't know that Alex was running late for tonight's event and she felt like they were being a burden.

"No, come on. I've been late before." Alex lied so Jamie wouldn't feel bad. Truthfully it was Max's fault that they were all running behind and she would deal with that later. Alex took Jamie's hand and they both walked out into the courtyard where Max stood waiting for them outside of the car.

Max saw both women walking towards him and smiled at both as he opened the back door for them. Alex let Jamie inside first and stood outside the door looking at Max. She noticed that his face was a little flushed and his eyes were somewhat glassy, "Are you okay, Max?" Alex asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I haven't been feeling too well for a while. I'm sorry I didn't answer Steven's calls but I was a little out of it; I feel better though." Max said, trying to smile sincerely.

Alex continued to stand there looking him over. Something was off about his explanation that he gave her, but before she could ask any further questions Steven came out with Clarissa who had a margarita in her hand.

"I found her by the drinks." Steven said rolling his eyes.

Clarissa giggled and bent down to look into the dark interior of the car, waving at Jamie who was sitting quietly inside.

"Sorry guys, I saw that table in there filled with drinks and I couldn't resist." Clarissa said.

Alex moved to the side to let Clarissa in, and she followed behind her with Steven being the last to get in. Max shut the door behind them and ran around to the driver side. He knew where they needed to go and hoped that he could get there with no problems.

Inside the car Alex leaned towards Steven, "Something's up with Max." She softly spoke.

Steven looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"He has this odd look on his face." She whispered.

Steven was about to comment but was interrupted as the car jolted hard to a stop. They all braced themselves against the seats in front of them as they tried to stop their forward motion.

"What the hell, Max!" Alex yelled. Max immediately turned his head trying to apologize.

"I'm sorry! The light turned red-" He started to say, but Alex didn't let him finish.

"I know we're late, Max, but you don't have to speed to get us there." She said.

Max nodded and started to drive again once the light changed, heading towards Sunset Boulevard.

Alex looked at Jamie and Clarissa who hadn't spoken since they got into the car.

"Sorry about that." Alex said to both women. She then turned to Steven who still had his hand on his chest.

"You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, just a little surprised." Steven replied.

Thankfully a few minutes later they had made it to the premiere without any more incidents. The red carpet was teaming with celebrities and their entourage, while on the sidelines stood the reporters and photographers trying to get interviews with any celebrity they could. On the other side, standing behind a red rope were the fans. They were screaming with excitement and taking pictures of their own.

Max quickly walked around the car to open the door for his passengers. He had parked right in front of where the red carpet began, and two bodyguards automatically stood at attention on the opposite side of Max. He opened the door and stood there, bracing himself for the craziness he knew was about to come. Steven stepped out first and turned to help Alex out. Once Alex fully stood up, the crowd went crazy. Lights were flashing everywhere as they all tried to get Alex's attention. She looked around at the crowd, smiling at them as she waved.

Alex turned around to see Steven helping Jamie and Clarissa out of the car. At the same time she saw the one person she was dreading to see tonight walking towards her.

Cindy openly checked Alex out, licking her lips as she did so. She walked up to Alex and gave her a hug. Alex awkwardly hugged her back knowing she needed to put on this show for the crowd. Before letting go, Cindy couldn't help herself and whispered into Alex's ear, "You look so sexy tonight."

Alex quickly backed away and gave Cindy an icy stare. Cindy laughed at Alex's response to her comment, and then arrogantly walked over towards Steven who was standing with Jamie and Clarissa. Alex followed behind her; she didn't want any problems, not tonight.

Jamie saw both women walking towards them. Cindy had a smile on her face, and Alex looked like she wanted to kill someone. Cindy walked up to Jamie and Clarissa, completely ignoring Steven who just rolled his eyes at her.

"Hello ladies, this must be very overwhelming for you two. It's too bad Alex has to make the rounds with me," She looked directly at Jamie, who seemed a little shocked. "You don't mind while I take her with me, do you?" Cindy asked. Before Jamie could speak Alex had been pulled away by an assistant to talk to a reporter. Alex kept looking back trying to get Cindy's attention but the crowd was too loud.

"Oh, you look surprised. She didn't tell you I was her date for the night?" Cindy continued.

"Why don't you go and talk to a reporter somewhere, Cindy." Steven said. He was getting annoyed at her presence and the way she had approached them.

Cindy rolled her eyes to look at Steven, "You're right, I have to go catch up to Alex. It was nice seeing you two." Cindy said with false kindness as she walked away.

"That was weird. Did Alex tell you that she already had a date for tonight?" Clarissa asked Jamie.

Jamie continued to stare on at Alex who was currently talking very animatedly to a reporter with Cindy at her side. Every other second or so, Cindy's hand would travel to Alex's back.

"Hey, Jamie." Clarissa nudged.

Jamie shook her head. "No, she didn't tell me. I thought we were going together." She said softly.

Clarissa turned to look at Steven who was currently on his Blackberry.

"Hey you!" Clarissa yelled. Steven stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.

"That Cindy chick is Alex's date tonight?" Clarissa asked.

"Well, not a date like you might think, but they were supposed to be with each other during the premiere." Steven said, gesturing towards the crowd.

"Why didn't Alex tell me?" Jamie asked.

"She was going to, I assume, but these things always get her hyped up and she forgets things." Steven replied.

Jamie felt as if she had wasted time picking out clothes that Alex would like on her. She felt like a third wheel now that Cindy was in the picture. She remembered when Cindy visited Alex's house uninvited and how she had touched Alex's face. Cindy was beautiful, but something was just a little off about her.

"She doesn't seem very nice." Clarissa commented.

"She's a bitch, believe me. Come on girls, enough of her! Lets walk the carpet." Steven said as he led them towards Alex and Cindy, who were still talking to reporters and taking pictures with fans.

"Come on, you'll be my date, Jamie." Clarissa smiled as she held her hand out for Jamie to take.

Jamie smiled back slightly and took the offered hand. "Thanks, Clar." She said, as they both slowly walked behind Steven.

What had she expected, that her and Alex would walk down the carpet hand in hand as a couple? She knew that wasn't going to happen, but at least it would have been nice for Alex to warn her about Cindy. Jamie mentally laughed at herself.

Clarissa watched Jamie as they strolled behind Steven hand in hand. She thought Jamie looked beautiful and for Alex to pass her up for Cindy seemed crazy. She noticed Jamie quietly contemplating Alex and Cindy so she gave Jamie's hand a little squeeze to reassure her. Jamie looked at Clarissa and squeezed back, letting her know she was okay.

The trio stood off to the side waiting for Alex who was being stopped every minute by reporters or paparazzi. To Jamie this was all a very huge experience, and Cindy was right, she was a little intimidated by everything. They were more than halfway down the carpet when Alex turned to look for Jamie. She was so involved with promoting the movie that she forgot to check back in with Jamie.

Alex knew she needed to talk to Jamie about the Cindy situation and only hoped she had time to explain. She found Jamie a few feet off to her side holding hands with Clarissa, who at that moment met her gaze. Clarissa didn't smile at her and only continued to stare her straight in the eyes as she pulled Jamie to her a little closer. Alex knew at that moment that she was no longer on Clarissa's good side. Just then Jamie looked up at Alex who was not paying attention to the questions being thrown at her because she was too busy staring at Clarissa. Jamie knew the look on Alex's face; it was the look she gave when she was about to give a piece of her mind. Jamie then looked at Clarissa, and saw the same look mirrored on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jamie asked.

Clarissa turned to Jamie, her eyebrow raised in question.

"What's going on?" Jamie asked again.

"Nothing actually. Why?" Clarissa said as she tried to sound believable.

"I just saw Alex giving you a look that I know too well, and you were giving one back. Please don't start anything tonight, Clar." Jamie pleaded.

Clarissa just shook her head as she let go of Jamie's hand and walked away towards Steven. Jamie stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock. She had no clue what just happened and the only thing she knew was that she was on her own tonight.

Alex noticed the exchange between Jamie and Clarissa and decided that she needed to finally just talk to Jamie who was currently standing alone.

"Excuse me." Alex told the reporter as she turned to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Cindy yelled after her.

Alex walked up next to Jamie, putting her hand on Jamie's lower back. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just had a minor disagreement with Clar, but that's all." Jamie looked down at her hands, feeling somewhat insecure with herself.

"Hey, I'm sorry if Cindy told you anything rude." Alex said. Jamie laughed a little and shook her head. "She just told me that she was your date for the night." Jamie replied.

"God, no, I mean, I was going to tell you that they wanted me to appear with her here but that's all it is. It's not a date, Jay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you in the car but sometimes I get so caught up in the moment that-" Jamie stopped Alex.

"It's okay, Alex. You don't owe me any explanations." Jamie said as Alex took both her hands in her own.

"No, I do. You aren't used to all of this and I really just want to do things right with you. You are my date tonight, Jay, only you. Okay?" Alex said.

Jamie smiled up at Alex and nodded, "Okay."

Alex smiled back and leaned in to give Jamie a kiss. Just as their lips met, hundreds of flashes from all of the cameras were lighting the couple up. Alex pulled away slightly and looked down at Jamie.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Alex asked.

"I'm so ready to go inside." Jamie replied back. As they held hands, Alex led the way down the rest of the red carpet to the awaiting building as she gave a few more waves to everyone before going inside. It was much more quiet inside of the building away from the crowd, and Jamie let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She noticed Clarissa and Steven walking ahead of them further into the room towards the theater itself.

Everyone was inside, the director, producers, cast and crew. Jamie recognized many faces from other movies she had watched and was definitely star-struck. Alex had her arm around Jamie's waist as they walked into the elegant theater. The seats were assigned for individual parties that were attending and Alex led them to their seats, which were near Steven and Clarissa.

"Is it just me or does the walk down the red carpet always seem to get longer?" Steven asked Alex.

Alex looked at Steven and smiled, "I think it's just you." She said.

Clarissa was sitting down next to Steven and had yet to speak. She was still upset at Jamie and also jealous of Alex's hold on her. She wanted desperately to leave, but didn't want to be rude or cause any trouble.

A few minutes later as the lights dimmed down, an older man walked up to the front of the room to announce the movie. After he stepped down, the lights fully faded and the night had officially begun.

Two hours later they had all left the building, once again walking down the red carpet but this time to go home.

"That was so inspiring, Alex. You did such a fantastic performance." Jamie said as she looked up at Alex.

"Thanks, Jay. That really means a lot to me." Alex said. It meant the world what Jamie thought of the movie, and every once in a while during the movie she would glance at Jamie to try and catch her reactions to certain scenes.

"I think you might get another Oscar for this one." Steven stated.

Alex laughed as she rubbed small circles up and down Jamie's back.

"I'm serious, Alex." Steven said as he playfully slapped Alex's arm.

"Hey, I know you're serious." Alex replied.

"God, you're way too humble sometimes. The only scene I hated was every scene with Cindy in it. If people only knew how crazy she is." Steven said as they continued to walk to their car.

"Speak of the devil herself." Alex stated, aggravated, under her breath. Cindy was standing next to Max with an uptight look on her face.

"I need a ride." Cindy stated.

"What happened to your ride, Cindy?" Alex asked.

"Oh, you know how they leave sometimes, or just show up late." Cindy said as she glanced at Max.

"Go find your own ride and leave." Alex said as she walked up to Cindy and pushed her to the side. Alex opened the door and allowed Jamie in first, completely ignoring Cindy who was now yelling at her.

"You are so rude, Alexandra! If I need a ride home you're going to give it to me! Max, let me in there!" Cindy yelled as Max closed the door behind Steven who was the last to get in.

"I'm sorry, Cindy, I can't do that." Max said as he walked around to the driver side.

"What?" Cindy followed closely behind Max, "We had a plan, Max. What the fuck are you doing?" Cindy now whispered.

Max looked down at her, "Alex said no, that means I have to say no too. It didn't happen like you planned, so you have to go." He went to open his door but Cindy grabbed him. Just then, the back window slid down revealing Alex who looked pissed.

"Let go of my driver, Cindy." Alex said, her voice low and calm.

Cindy turned to Alex and glared at her as she let go of Max.

"You don't know anything at all, Alex. Leave, go have fun with the blond." Cindy said. She then walked around the front of the car, glaring at Max, and then walked away. Max finally sat down inside and knew he was going to hear it from Cindy later. He knew he didn't have to do anything she said but she was paying him to get closer to Alex. The extra money was all he needed to support his family. Max liked to drink a little too much recently but he wouldn't admit he had a problem. Just because he spent his money on liquor most of the time didn't mean he had a problem, Cindy knew that, so Max was like puddy in her hands.

The ride home was quiet. They were on their way to drop off Clarissa who had only spoken a few words to any of them. She didn't want to stay at Alex's house, even though Alex insisted she had more than enough space for her. As they pulled up in front of Clarissa's place Jamie grabbed her hand. "We'll talk later?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah." Clarissa nodded and closed the car door behind her.

As they drove away, Alex took Jamie's hand, "How do you feel?"

"Tired, I just want to knock out." Jamie said, as she yawned.

"You mean you're not hungry?" Alex asked.

"I'd rather sleep now than eat." Jamie replied.

"Okay, then we'll sleep." Alex softly replied as Jamie rested her head on her shoulder.

Once at Alex's home, Steven walked down the hall to the room he considered his whenever he stayed over. "Night ladies." He said as he walked off.

Alex took Jamie's hand and led her upstairs to her own room. She closed the door behind them and dimmed the lights.

"Let me help you with this." Alex said as she went to unzip Jamie's gown.

"Thanks." Jamie said, kicking off her heels.

After unzipping Jamie, Alex removed her own gown to reveal a laced bra and a skin colored thong. Jamie stared on after her as Alex walked to the bathroom to wash her face. Alex was oblivious to Jamie's gaze as she continued to wash up. Jamie dropped her gown on the floor next to Alex's and took a running leap onto the very large bed.

Alex caught Jamie's leap and couldn't help from laughing.

"You saw that." Jamie stated, a little embarrassed at herself for being caught.

"Uh, yeah, I did." Alex said, smiling at Jamie's antics. She walked around to the other side of the bed and also jumped up onto it.

"Nice underwear." Jamie said, giggling.

Alex looked down at herself and then proceeded to removed her bra and thong.

"Thanks, but I can't sleep in those," Alex then lifted the comforter and slid underneath, "Are you going to sleep above the sheets, Jay?" Alex asked.

"No, I'm not." Jamie said. She lifted her side of the comforter and slid underneath them too.

"This is really nice." Jamie sighed.

"It would be a lot nicer if you took off your bra. I mean, nice for you." Alex said smiling.

Jamie looked at Alex for a second, then, sat up to take off her own bra. When she laid back again, she turned her body to face Alex. "You're right, this is nice." She said.

Alex smiled and continued to stare at Jamie who was staring back. Alex scooted closer to Jamie and allowed her hand to roam up Jamie's side. Jamie took in a quick breath and closed her eyes. Alex leaned in and softly kissed Jamie's lips just as their breasts touched as well. Jamie pulled Alex closer to her so that their bodies were fully touching. Alex let out a low moan at the feeling of warmth that was coming from Jamie's skin. They continued to kiss, slowly, enjoying the feel of their lips and tongues caressing. Alex lifted herself up and straddled Jamie's waist while she trailed kisses down Jamie's neck.

They continued to taste each other and knew it wouldn't go any further tonight. They were both too tired and just wanted to be close to one another. Jamie ran her hands down Alex's back, pulling her down, wanting to feel more of Alex's heat against her. When she did, she let out a soft moan that didn't go unnoticed by Alex. Alex pulled back smiling, "We should probably stop now." She said.

"I think so too." Jamie whispered, slightly out of breath.

Alex rolled off of Jamie and rested her head on her pillow. "Come here." Alex said.

Jamie smiled and laid her head on Alex's shoulder. It only took a few seconds for Jamie to fall asleep. Alex heard her breathing slowly even out and knew that Jamie wouldn't wake up for anything at all. Alex's thoughts started to spin in her head; she knew she loved Jamie, and she wanted to do everything right to make her happy and comfortable. Her own life was a long, crazy rollercoaster ride, and Alex knew she would do anything to protect Jamie from any backlash. With those thoughts in her head, Alex drifted off to sleep as she held Jamie close to her.

Continued in Part 8


	8. Chapter 8

**Surviving the Storm**

 **By Alice D.**

Jamie blinked her eyes a few times as the night table next to her slowly came into focus. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and once she did she couldn't help but nestle herself further into the warm and cozy bed. Jamie turned over expecting to see Alex sleeping next to her but instead a pile of pillows were scattered in her place. When she spotted the time on the clock facing her on the other table, her eyes immediately grew wide. It was noon, but you would never be able to tell because the room she was in was shrouded in darkness. Jamie quickly threw the sheets off of her body and hopped off the bed.

"Oh my God, how did this happen?" Jamie mumbled under her breath. She had a corporate event she needed to attend somewhere in downtown Los Angeles in an hour and she knew, at this point, she was going to be late. The event was a meeting with the sponsors that allowed her and others to speak at conventions around the U.S. and to be late would make her look careless and irresponsible. Truthfully, Jamie had forgotten about the meeting with all the running around she'd been doing the past few days.

Jamie slowly felt around the dark room looking for a light switch as she cursed under her breath at how ridiculous she must look at the moment. Just as she was starting to actually get annoyed at her situation, the bedroom door slowly opened and Alex walked in with what looked to be clothes folded in her arms.

"Alex! Thank goodness, are those my clothes?" Jamie asked as she walked towards Alex who turned in surprise at the voice that was not coming from the bed.

"Hey, good morning sleepyhead." Alex said, somewhat surprised that Jamie was walking around in the dark. She handed the clothes to Jamie and noticed how quickly Jamie started to dress herself. "Okay, is everything alright, Jay?" Alex asked, quickly flicking the light switch on.

After zipping up her pants she looked up at Alex who eyed her with concern. "I have a meeting today that I need to be at and I _completely_ forgot about it." Jamie said.

"Oh, so when do you need to be there?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling disappointed because she had the whole day planned out for them, and now those plans looked like they weren't going to happen.

"I have to be there in an hour, but I need to go home first." Jamie replied. She contemplated Alex's face to search for any negative reaction to her situation. Alex actually seemed understanding, which allowed Jamie to feel a little more relaxed.

Alex nodded, "Okay, sure, I'll take you home." She said. They both headed over to the garage, which lit up automatically as soon as they walked in. Alex grabbed a set of keys off of the wall and pressed the remote-start button that hung off of the keychain. In the far corner of the large garage a metallic, silver sports car revved up as Alex led the way.

Jamie took notice of the pitch black tinted windows and the car doors that opened upward instead of outward. "Wow, Alex, is this your bat-mobile?" Jamie asked as she slipped into the elegant car.

Alex couldn't hide the grin that appeared on her face. "No, it's my chick-mobile actually."

Jamie's eyebrow arched, as she noticed the grin on Alex's face. "Oh really? So is this how you take all of your women home?"

As Alex backed out onto her driveway she couldn't help but notice the hint of jealousy that seemed to creep into Jamie's statement, and it was very cute, especially coming from the blond. "No, this is how I take Jamie home. This is my Jay-mobile." Alex said, smiling as she drove them out of her driveway.

Jamie laughed, playfully hitting Alex on her shoulder. "Really?" She asked.

"Really." Alex nodded, and quickly leaned over to give Jamie a peck on her cheek.

"Alright, here we are." Alex parked the car on the curb in front of Jamie's house. It took them twenty-five minutes to reach their destination with Alex speeding as much as she could without getting pulled over. Jamie turned towards Alex after removing her seat belt and leaned in to hug her.

"Thank you so much for everything, Alex, I had so much fun," Jamie looked down at herself. "geez, I'm such a mess right now, I need to run in and get ready."

"You're welcome Jay, anything for you. I'm happy you were able to be there with me yesterday. When you're done with the meeting give me a call okay? I have nothing to do today, so I'm completely free." Alex said, smiling. Jamie went to hug Alex again and softly kissed Alex's lips. They pulled apart, only their foreheads touching as Alex cupped Jamie's face with her hands.

"I'll see you later." Jamie said, pulling away from Alex a second time.

"Okay, see you, Jay." Alex waved just before Jamie closed the car door. Once Jamie was safely in her home, Alex drove off to her own home, and for the first time in a long time she had no clue what she would do that day.

Once Jamie arrived to the meeting she immediately sat down next to one of her colleagues who was staring at her curiously. Jamie had arrived just on time and she blew out a sigh of relief. The sponsors had not started the meeting yet so she leaned back into her chair, but before she could get comfortable, a magazine was pushed across the table to her.

"Check it out, Jamie." Wendy whispered across from her. She was also a fellow speaker that had been working with Jamie for two years.

Jamie sat up and leaned over to grab the magazine. It was a celebrity gossip magazine that so happened to have a large picture of her and Alex on the front cover from the night before. It was a picture of them kissing on the red carpet. Jamie couldn't believe what she was seeing and studied the front cover closely, hoping the image was a mistake. Although she wished it wasn't her, she knew it was.

Jamie looked up at Wendy who had a large smile on her face. "Where did you get this, Wendy?" Jamie asked as she flipped the magazine over so that the front cover was face down.

"I stopped by the store this morning and it was in the stands. That's not the only magazine with you on it either." Wendy giggled.

"What?! Not the only magazine? There's more?" Jamie tried to whisper but was failing at it miserably.

At that moment her colleague next to her slid over his copy of another celebrity magazine with the same photo on the cover, but a different title. Jamie picked it up and looked at the title. " _Alexandra Davenport's new love_?" Jamie read to herself.

"You didn't tell us you knew Alexandra Davenport." Wendy said, smirking.

Jamie was still in shock as she looked at both covers and was not paying attention to anyone that might have been speaking to her. When she finally looked up, everyone sitting at the table was now staring at her, as if they were waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jamie asked, still in shock.

Just then the sponsors walked into the room, and immediately everyone's attention was diverted to them. Jamie didn't know how to take the situation because she had never been on the cover of a magazine before. How would it effect her job as a motivational speaker, and would people take her seriously anymore if she were on gossip magazines? Jamie's mind was definitely not in the meeting as a million thoughts ran through her head at once.

In the Hills, Alex was in her garage waxing one of her bikes when she heard the sound of a car pulling up in her driveway. Wanting to see who was coming up her driveway unannounced, she walked out of her garage, which was already open, letting in the California breeze. What she saw in her driveway made her smile, and she jogged up to the person who jumped out of the car.

"Bryan, what are you doing here?" Alex asked as she hugged her younger brother tightly.

"Well I wanted to see how my wonderful sister was doing and wanted to also meet your new girlfriend." Bryan pulled away, took a folded magazine out of his back pocket and shoved it into Alex's chest.

Alex frowned, curious as to how her brother knew about Jamie. She hadn't told anyone about them and instantly got suspicious. She looked down at the magazine cover and her hand immediately went to her forehead. She turned to walk back to the garage, completely ignoring her brother, and scanned the pages trying to locate the cover story.

"What?" Bryan asked, as he walked up behind her. Alex was busy reading the article that went along with the cover and admitted to herself that she had read worse things about her life. After she was finished scanning the story, she threw the offending magazine into the garbage without any thought.

"Why do you read that stuff, Bryan?" Alex asked.

"So… she's not your girlfriend then. I should have known, you were never one to really settle down." Bryan shook his head as he stood with his hands in his pockets.

Alex went back to waxing her bike and chose to completely ignore her brother's comment. "Hello, earth to Alex!" He said, now waving his hands in her face.

Alex looked up at Bryan, blue eyes meeting blue. "I heard you, I just choose to believe that you're smarter than gossip magazines." Alex snapped.

"Well that's why I'm also here. I wanted to get the news straight from my big sis." Bryan said.

Alex stayed looking at him and shook her head in annoyance. "Okay, that woman in the picture with me is Jamie. " She continued to stare at Bryan, waiting for a reaction.

Bryan didn't understand why she was telling him the woman's name as if he knew her. He stood there with a blank stare on his face.

"Jamie Johnson, my girlfriend through out high school." Alex clarified.

It was as if a light switch turned on as Bryan's eyes went wide in recognition.

"You're kidding me! That's her? Wow, she got even hotter, I always had a secret thing for her when you guys were together." He said.

"Yeah, well I'm not quite sure what to call her. We're still figuring each other out and I want to take it slow so I don't scare her." She said, continuing to wipe down her bike.

"Have you guys done the deed yet?" Bryan asked, a serious tone in his voice.

Alex nodded as she continued looking at her brother, who started to laugh. "Why are you laughing?" she asked him as she stood up.

"If you had sex with her, then it's a little too late to be worrying about taking it slow and scaring her. Especially now that she's on all sorts of magazine covers with you kissing her." He continued to laugh at his sister as he shook his head.

"When we had sex it was sort of in the moment, and we haven't really talked about it. It just happened, I wanted her and she wanted me." Alex stated matter-of-factly.

"Nothing just happens with you, Alex. Especially when it comes to conquests and sex." Bryan said.

"It's not like that, Bryan. I went looking for her and I found her. It might sound corny but she's the one I always wanted to spend my life with. Now that I have her again, I don't want to lose her. So I'm treading carefully I guess." Alex stood her ground, making sure her brother knew she was serious.

Bryan nodded. "Okay I believe you. Does she know she's all over the press?"

Alex stopped what she was doing and stood up. "That's what I'm worried about. I'm not sure how she's going to react. If she's still anything like she was in high school she's going to be pretty freaked out." Alex continued to walk inside her home with Bryan following her.

"That's just something she has to get used to. If she wants to be with you again she has to accept that you come with a little extra baggage. Jay should understand that, and if she doesn't, then I'm sure she'll let you know." Bryan finished.

Alex poured herself a glass of wine and gave her brother a beer. She took a large sip of her wine as they both went to sit down at her mini bar. Alex laughed a little as she looked down into the glass. "A little extra baggage? Yeah right, I have so much baggage that sometimes I'm not sure what to do with it." She took another sip of her wine, finishing it on the spot.

"You love her still, don't you?" Bryan asked her.

Alex nodded, "So much it hurts."

Bryan rubbed his sisters back and pulled her closer to him. "Then you have nothing to worry about."

A few hours later found Jamie sitting at home reading an article in another magazine she picked up on her way home. The press didn't know her name yet but had many speculations of who she could be. She looked down at her phone and noticed the many text messages from Clarissa, which meant that she probably saw the magazines too. Jamie wondered if Alex knew about the magazines so she decided to give her a call.

Alex's phone rang in her pocket while she drove down Rodeo Drive with Bryan. She answered the call through her wireless ear-piece, somewhat nervous at what Jamie was going to tell her.

"Hi, Jay." Alex answered.

"Hey, Alex, I just called to let you know I'm home…and I also wanted to ask you if you've been to the store today." Jamie hesitated.

"Well I haven't been to the store but I do know about the picture that's on every entertainment magazine, and I just want to say that I'm sorry about it. I have no control over what the press writes or what the paparazzi do." Alex's words came out rushed. Bryan could tell that Alex was nervous as he looked at her with a slight smirk on his face.

Jamie could hear the nervous tone in Alex's voice and it almost seemed as if Alex was scared of her own reaction. "Alex, you don't have to apologize, I was just a little shocked when I saw it. I've never been on a cover like that before and it seems a little surreal I guess."

Alex let out a relieved sigh, "So you're not angry?"

"No, of course not. I know that this is probably what's going to happen from now on when I'm with you. I've thought about it and I just have to accept it." Jamie said.

"You don't have to, you can still back out of this relationship with me." Alex replied.

"Alex, I told you I wanted to try this again. You and I have a lot to catch up on and I know what I'm getting into. I just want to be with you, and that's that."

Alex felt as if a weight was lifted off of her shoulders at what Jamie had just told her, and she knew then that Jamie was definitely the one she wanted forever.

"Hey, um, do you want me to go and pick you up?" Alex asked.

"Sure, that sounds great." Jamie said, smiling.

"Alright, be there in five minutes."

"Five minutes, Alex?" Jamie asked concerned. She didn't want Alex speeding again.

"Yeah, I'm already on the road, it shouldn't take long." Alex replied.

"Okay, see you in a few." Jamie said as they both ended the call.

Approximately five minutes later Alex pulled up at Jamie's house. "Okay little brother, you have to go in the back seat." Alex said as she got out of the car. Bryan opened the door and jumped into the back. Alex jogged up the small driveway and rang the doorbell. Jamie opened the door and smiled up at Alex who once again looked incredibly sexy without even trying.

"Hey." Alex said, her blue eyes sparkling in the sun.

"Hi." Jamie replied, shyly. Alex slowly leaned down to kiss Jamie and without hesitation Jamie pulled Alex closer to her. The kiss started slowly but soon became heated as they both enjoyed each other's mouth. Suddenly Alex's car honked behind them, automatically pulling them apart. Jamie looked over Alex's shoulder at the car, but she couldn't see inside because of the dark tinted windows, so she looked back up at Alex.

"Is Max rushing us?" Jamie asked; she couldn't help but chuckle.

Alex turned her head and gave her brother, who she knew was watching, an ice-cold glare. She then turned back to Jamie. "No, not Max, but someone else." Alex said as she took Jamie's hand and walked to her car. Alex opened the passenger door for Jamie and then walked around to the driver side.

"Hey there, Jamie." Bryan said as he touched Jamie's shoulder. Jamie turned around, her mouth opening in shock at Bryan sitting in the back seat. His dark hair was neatly combed upward and he was sporting a five o'clock shadow.

"Oh my god, Bryan! It's so great to see you! You're all grown up!" Jamie squealed excitedly while she held his hand.

"So are you! You're definitely not a teenager anymore. It's really nice to see you again, Jamie." Bryan replied, sincerely.

"He's the one that showed me the magazine with our picture on the cover." Alex said, while she drove out of Jamie's neighborhood.

"It's a nice picture, Alex! You look very pretty by the way." Bryan stated towards Jamie.

"Thank you." Jamie blushed.

Alex smiled as Jamie and Bryan caught each other up on the last few years. They laughed at the stories about their childhood and the crazy antics they would sometimes get into. For a moment it felt like they were teenagers again, with Bryan being the annoying younger brother always trying to get into their business. Unfortunately that feeling didn't last when Alex saw the swarm of paparazzi in front of her gated entrance.

"What the hell?" Alex said as she drove up slowly to the gate, trying not to hit anyone with her car.

Once the paparazzi realized it was Alex who was driving, they immediately started to take pictures, the flashes going off in rapid succession. They surrounded the car and started to also take pictures of Jamie.

"Alex, I thought these guys weren't able to get past the front gate security." Bryan said, somewhat annoyed at their predicament.

Alex shrugged, "I'm not sure how they got here." Once she was close enough to where she could put in the password to get in the estate, she lowered her window. The questions were being hurled one after another about the mystery woman in the car and in the photos.

"Excuse me guys, can you just step back a little so I can get in, please." Alex said as politely as possible.

They all moved back a few inches but were still in Alex's face.

"Are you cheating on Cindy?" One yelled.

"Does she know about the new woman?" Another asked.

"Can you tell us more about her?"

The questions all seemed to come one after another and Alex pursed her lips. Why did everyone think she was with Cindy? How many times had she tried to clear that up in interviews? Once she was able to put the password in, the window rolled back up, cutting off the voices and questions. While she drove up slowly trying to make sure she didn't hit anyone, the banging started. The cameras were sliding against the car windows as they tried to get as close as possible for a last minute picture.

Jamie leaned closer to Alex when one of the men banged on her window so she could look towards his lens.

"We're almost through, the gate should close by itself." Alex explained to Jamie.

Bryan shook his head in annoyance; he wasn't sure how his sister could deal with the attention every day of her life. He turned to see the gate completely close behind them as the paparazzi backed off.

"You're all set, Alex." Bryan said, turning back around.

"I wasn't expecting them to be there. Sorry about that, Jay." Alex said as she drove up to her garage. She took Jamie's hand and slowly rubbed circles on it to calm her down.

"I'm good. It just freaked me out a little with all the banging on the car." Jamie said.

"They can be pretty aggressive like that." Alex replied.

Jamie squeezed Alex's hand a little tighter to let her know she was ok. Once Alex parked in the garage they all got out and stretched.

"Well guys, I'd like to catch up some more but I have work to do." Bryan said as he went to give Jamie a hug.

"You're leaving already?" Jamie asked, a frown forming on her face.

"I've been here all day with Alex, but I'll come by and visit. I live just half an hour away." Bryan said.

Alex playfully punched her brother's arm. "You need to visit me more often since you live so close."

Bryan hugged Alex and laughed. "Hey, I was lucky to find you here today. I'm never that lucky. We have to find a day for all of us to go out for dinner or something." He released Alex and winked at Jamie. "I'll see you guys around." Bryan said. He then turned to walk to his car that was still parked in the driveway.

As he was leaving, Jamie looked at Alex curiously. "What does he do nowadays?" she asked.

Alex put her arm around Jamie and watched as her brother drove away, "He's a paramedic, but he's always more busier than I am." Alex replied.

"Wow, I would have never guessed that he would grow up to be a paramedic. That's amazing." Jamie said in awe. She still remembered him as annoying and often obnoxious.

Alex smiled and looked down at Jamie. "I guess it's in the Davenport genes to be amazing." She said.

Jamie looked up and couldn't help but chuckle at Alex's smug answer. "I think you're right, Alex, you are quite amazing."

"Oh yeah?" Alex grinned.

"Yeah." Jamie replied as they both inched closer to each other. They kissed slowly, and Alex couldn't help but run her fingers through Jamie's hair.

"I love when you do that." Jamie whispered after she pulled back slightly.

"Good, because I want to do it all the time." Alex replied, she then leaned down to kiss Jamie again. Jamie moaned softly when Alex pulled her tighter against her tall, lithe body. She could feel Alex's breasts against her own and feel every breath Alex was taking. It was pure bliss.

Alex pulled back slowly and led them into the house.

"Jay, are you hungry?" She asked.

"It depends what you mean." Jamie replied. There was a sly grin on her face and Alex picked up on what she meant, quickly. Alex walked slowly up to Jamie and whispered, "What do you want it to mean, Jay?" she asked.

Jamie inhaled quickly when she saw the predatory look on Alex's face. She wanted Alex, badly.

"Uh, I really enjoyed making love to you the other day." Jamie blurted out. She didn't realize what she had said until she saw Alex's face change into a large grin.

"Crap! I didn't mean to say that. I can't believe I said that out loud." Jamie panicked and put her hands over her face.

Alex removed Jamie's hands and tilted her head up by her chin. "Are you embarrassed, Jay?" Alex grinned at the red flush on Jamie's cheeks.

"Yes, I am actually. I didn't mean for that to come out…and it did." Jamie whispered.

"I'm actually glad you said something because we haven't spoken about that day, really. Now that you said you enjoyed it, makes me want to tell you the same thing. I enjoyed it very much and I know we've just found each other again, but I feel like we never went our separate ways. I feel so natural around you, Jay, and I hope that you feel that way with me too." Alex spoke softly wanting to make Jamie feel comfortable again.

Jamie nodded, "I do feel that way around you. I've had so much fun the last few days and it's been even better with you."

Alex let out a relieved sigh and kissed Jamie's forehead.

"I love you, Jay, so much." Alex whispered.

"I love you too." Jamie hugged Alex, "I _am_ pretty hungry, for food though. If I don't eat I might go crazy." Jamie admitted.

Alex laughed, "Okay, I'll make you something to eat."

Jamie looked at Alex with surprise written all over her face.

"Hey, no judging. I can cook if I need to." Alex said, reacting to Jamie's expression.

Jamie nodded, "Okay, well show me what you've got, superstar."

Alex and Jamie had been dating for six months and everything seemed to be going very well in their lives. Alex was working on another film that she was the lead in, and was more in the studio than in her own home lately. Jamie traveled around Los Angeles with Clarissa at different seminars for the LGBT community but could not stop the paparazzi from traveling with her too. They loved to follow her wherever she went and Jamie knew it was something she couldn't control, so she dealt with it. A Month after the photo from the premiere was published all over every gossip magazine; Alex did an interview where she admitted to the press that she was seeing someone. From that day on the paparazzi were constantly at her side, whether she was with Alex or not. Alex had been adamant with Jamie to take a few of her bodyguards whenever she went out, but Jamie didn't want to seem untouchable. Jamie wanted to stay humble and be reachable to the people she was speaking out for.

Needless to say, Alex was not happy with the decision. She knew Jamie was her own person and knew how to make her own decisions, but she just wanted to be cautious.

It was six o'clock in the evening and Jamie was currently finishing up signing autographs for the group that came out to see her speak that day. The crowds had been larger than normal ever since the public found out she was in a relationship with Alex, but she didn't mind at all. As long as everyone got the message she was trying to give, then she was perfectly happy.

Once Jamie signed her last autograph she decided she needed to stop by the ladies room first before leaving for the day. Suddenly, as she was walking down the main hall, her wrist was grabbed from behind her. It caused Jamie to immediately turn around to look at the person still holding on to her. She came face to face with a man who was gripping her wrist tightly and who also looked awkward for the setting they were in. He was wearing a camo jacket over a white shirt, with camo pants and high-top boots that were tightly tied up. His blond hair was down to his shoulders in oily strands that surrounded an equally oily face.

"Can I help you? " Jamie asked as she looked down at his hand still around her wrist. He grinned at her, his eyes staring directly into her own.

"I think you're a pervert for doing what you do." He said through gritted teeth.

Jamie forcefully pulled her arm back to release his hold. She was shocked that someone who didn't even know her would approach her like this.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Jamie replied quickly and turned to walk away. Before she could go any further he stopped her again by stepping in front of her.

"Don't walk away from me. You know, I've been going to all of your conferences and listening to what you have to say and the way you live is disgusting. You and that actress together in sin; you will pay for your sins." He said. His teeth clenched tightly together.

Before Jamie could react to what the man had just said, Clarissa walked up to them.

"Hey, Jamie, ready to go?" Clarissa turned to look at the man, "Hello." She told him. The man didn't respond to Clarissa and only stared both of them down before turning and walking away down the hall. Clarissa turned back to Jamie and slightly chuckled.

"Okay. That was weird." Clarissa muttered, looking at her friend. Jamie had not said anything yet and was just watching the man as he walked down the hall and turned the corner. "Hey are you okay?" Clarissa asked.

Jamie nodded, "He just freaked me out a little bit. He was one of those religious nut jobs, that's all." Jamie said, trying to brush off what had just happened.

"He looked like a nut job." Clarissa replied.

At that point Jamie just wanted to leave, and she completely forgot about needing to use the ladies room.

"Are you going to tell Alex about that guy?" Clarissa asked.

"No, of course not. Not with the way she's been trying to force her bodyguards on me." Jamie replied while crossing her arms.

"I mean, are you sure? It'll be worse if she finds out from someone else."

Jamie gave Clarissa a stern look.

"Clar, please don't tell Alex about this."

"Maybe having bodyguards isn't so bad, Jay." Clarissa said.

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Clarissa! No, just drop it. I just want to go home and relax at this point."

Clarissa nodded; nothing else was said about the strange man as Clarissa drove Jamie to her house.

Once Jamie had settled in and gotten comfortable she decided to text Alex. The film Alex was working on rarely gave the two women time to spend with each other. Alex's schedule constantly kept her on set and working.

Jamie sent a quick text to Alex, and about five minutes later her phone started to ring. A large smile appeared on her face when she saw who the caller was.

"Hey you." Jamie answered.

"Hi beautiful, how was your day?" Alex asked. She was taking a break from an action sequence they were currently shooting and she was now in her trailer relaxing on the couch.

"It was tiring." Jamie sighed.

"Are you alright, Jay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I just miss you."

"I miss you too sweetheart. I should be done with this scene in an hour or so, if it goes as planned." Alex said. She was also tired from filming all day and wanted to be with Jamie badly.

Jamie rubbed her tired eyes and tried to stretch out the stress that was currently building up in her shoulders. "Is the production on time today?" Jamie asked.

"So far we 're on time, and once I'm done here I'll go to your place so we can have some one on one time. Do you want me to pick anything up for you on my way over?" Alex asked.

"No I'm fine, Alex. Just bring yourself, that's all I need." Jamie sighed.

"Okay sweetheart, I'm going to let you go now so I can go back on set to finish this scene."

"Alright see you soon."

Once off the phone, Jamie walked over to her kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She grabbed a yogurt off of the top shelf and closed the refrigerator door. When she did, that's when Jamie noticed her wrist. There was a light bruising that wrapped around the pale skin, which caused Jamie to drop her yogurt.

"Oh crap!" Jamie shouted as the yogurt splattered around her feet. She couldn't stop staring at her wrist, which again reminded her of the creepy man that had a firm grip on it earlier that day. Jamie didn't realize that his hold was tight enough to cause a bruise, or if she just bruised easily. She wasn't sure which one it was, but she did know that Alex would probably notice and she would be forced to tell her what happened. She wasn't scared of Alex's reaction, but was more worried about the argument that she knew would follow afterwards, and taking bodyguards with her everywhere she went.

About forty-five minutes later Jamie had cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and was able to relax somewhat before Alex came by. Checking the time again, she decided that she would have enough time to take a shower and freshen up for her girlfriend. Jamie picked up the remote and turned on her stereo that already had Adele playing, her melodic voice coming through the sound system soothingly.

Satisfied with what was playing, Jamie freed herself of her clothes, not caring where they landed as she made her way to the bathroom. Once inside of the shower, she slid the glass partition closed and let the hot water roll down her hair and over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and tried to let the days events slowly wash away, but it wasn't happening. Behind her closed eyes she could see the man's face looking at her with so much hate and she could feel his grip on her wrist. She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the glass shower door open and then close softly.

Jamie jumped slightly when she felt arms wrap around her waist, she immediately turned around to find a very naked Alex in the shower with her.

Alex leaned down to kiss Jamie, her hands caressing up and down Jamie's slick back. The kiss had a hint of need behind it and Jamie responded back with just as much need. Pulling back but not letting go of Jamie, Alex smiled, and ran her fingers through Jamie's wet hair.

"I missed you." Alex said and leaned down to place another kiss on Jamie's lips.

Jamie's eyes were half lidded as she looked up at Alex, the water now cascading over Alex's shoulders and down her breasts.

"I've missed you too." Jamie whispered back. She let her own arms roam down Alex's lithe body as they continued to kiss. Alex moaned into Jamie's mouth when Jamie's hands moved to her inner thigh, which caused her to open herself up and unconsciously push Jamie against the tiled wall. Jamie inhaled quickly as her back hit the cold tile, but it was soon forgotten when Alex's mouth landed on her neck and then started to lick her way down. Just as Alex was getting to where Jamie needed her most, Alex slowly licked her way back up and held Jamie's hands above her head, resting on the tile.

They stood that way for a few seconds, staring into each other's eyes. Alex had a complete view of Jamie's body while she held her against the wall. Alex leaned into Jamie again, their arms still up and over their bodies while she softly nipped on Jamie's lower lip. Jamie took that as a sign and opened her mouth for Alex, letting her in completely. Their mouths battled for dominance but eventually found equal footing. Their bodies sensually rubbed against one another while soft moans were exchanged between the two.

Alex couldn't take it anymore and released one of Jamie's hands, allowing her to slide her free hand down Jamie's stomach. Jamie wrapped her own free hand around Alex's neck as they continued to kiss. Once Alex's fingers reached their destination, Jamie removed herself from Alex's mouth and leaned her forehead against Alex's own. Jamie lifted one leg and tightly wrapped it around Alex's waist, giving her total control of their position. Alex's fingers softly, yet quickly caressed Jamie as she felt her getting wetter around her fingers.

"Does it feel good, what I'm doing to you?" Alex asked, her breathing coming in quick pants.

Jamie nodded, her eyes closed as she pulled Alex closer to her. She could feel Alex's own body heating up against her own and knew Alex was enjoying watching her writhe under her touch.

Alex moved to rest her forehead on Jamie's shoulder while she continued to move her fingers in and out and over Jamie's clit. Nearing her release, Jamie bit down on Alex's neck, causing Alex to give out a soft grunt that further helped Jamie's release along. Alex latched onto Jamie's lips again, she knew Jamie was close and wanted to see her girlfriend come. She could feel Jamie's walls start to close around her fingers until they completely clenched around them. Jamie let out a loud moan into Alex's mouth, her fingers still inside Jamie, slowly bringing her down. Alex could feel Jamie's legs trying to give out, but she held her up, not wanting to miss a second of Jamie's climax.

Jamie leaned her head against the tile and opened her eyes to see a small grin on Alex's face. Alex removed her fingers, making Jamie jerk a little at the action.

"I love you, Alex." Jamie said. Her voice was a little shaky from the powerful orgasm that ripped through her body.

"I love you more." Alex replied, giving Jamie another passionate kiss as they held each other tightly.

Once they were finished cuddling and actually showering, they both headed to the master bedroom to relax. Alex kept a lot of her clothes at Jamie's house so she didn't have to worry about what to wear when she spent her time there. They changed into comfortable pajamas and laid back onto the bed. Alex held onto Jamie under the sheets and couldn't help a yawn from escaping her mouth.

"Did I tire you out?" Jamie asked, followed by a giggle.

Alex laughed and pulled Jamie tighter against her. "My day tired me out. You should have seen how many times I had to jump off of a building and onto a giant inflatable cushion."

"Why don't you use stunt doubles, babe?" Jamie interjected.

Alex shrugged, "I don't like to use them. I want the audience to know it's me and to just see me on screen."

"That's why you're the best out there. You really care about your work. That's also why I love you so much." Jamie said as she stole a kiss from Alex.

"Tell me about your day, Jay."

Jamie knew the subject of her day would come up and she really didn't want to talk about it, especially after the nice shower moment they just had.

"Anything new happen?" Alex continued.

"No, you know, same thing as always." Jamie responded quickly.

Alex looked at Jamie with a surprised expression on her face.

"Really? That's all? You always seem so excited after a conference." Alex said, sitting up in the bed.

"I am excited, it's just—today wasn't a very good day for me, I didn't feel well." Jamie said, trying to avoid the subject.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

Jamie quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. There was just something…" Jamie stopped, trying to find a way to tell Alex what happened.

"Something what?" Alex tried to push Jamie along.

Jamie sat up in bed too, so that she was sitting opposite Alex, facing her directly.

"There was this weird man that approached me and he was just odd. I've never had anyone come up to me the way he did." Jamie said.

"So did he say anything?" Alex could feel herself getting upset at the thought of someone making Jamie feel uncomfortable.

Jamie was about to tell her the whole incident but at the last minute decided against it. "No, nothing. Clarissa came up to me before he could actually say something, and then we left."

"So he just looked weird?"

Jamie nodded.

"I get weird fans sometimes too, it happens." Alex said as she slowly rubbed Jamie's arms.

Jamie smiled, but inwardly she felt guilty for lying to Alex. She would eventually tell her but tonight was not the time that she wanted to go into it.

Jamie lifted herself up and onto Alex, straddling her hips. She wanted to change the subject to something that was a lot more fun. Alex rested her hands on Jamie's waist and looked up at her expectantly.

"I want you writhing beneath me, Alex." Jamie whispered.

"Oh yeah?" Alex's eyes instantly became shaded with desire.

Jamie nodded, "You're all mine tonight." And with that said, Jamie proceeded to give Alex anything she wanted, and in turn enjoyed the gasps, moans, and whimpers that came out of the actress' mouth.

"You have to be fucking kidding me." Alex said to herself as she saw Cindy walking towards her. It was early morning the next day and Alex had left early from Jamie's house thirty minutes before. She was in the studio with make-up, preparing for the first shot of the day.

"Hi honey." Cindy said, stopping next to Alex.

"What do you want, Cindy? Alex asked, rolling her eyes.

"You know what I want. I've always wanted you, completely, and I know deep down you want me too. How about we go back to your trailer and get each other off." Cindy whispered.

"You disgust me. Don't you have somewhere to be? Isn't someone's house supposed to be dropped on you?" Alex seethed.

Cindy stood there quietly after Alex's last remark. Her face turned serious as she took a step towards Alex.

"How dare you patronize me, and look down on me, Alex. If you continue with this, you are seriously going to regret it." Cindy spit out.

"Are you threatening me?" Alex asked.

"Of course not. I'm just giving you a heads up." Cindy replied.

Alex turned to walk away but was stopped when Cindy started to speak again.

"Your girlfriend, Jamie, is smart. I saw one of her conferences recently. She and her friend seem pretty close, don't you think? How well do you know your girlfriend, Alex?"

Alex's icy stare bore into Cindy, but neither woman backed down. The director calling for Alex was the only thing that stopped her from seriously hurting Cindy. Alex knew she was just trying to catch a rise out of her and if she gave into it, it would only give Cindy what she wanted.

Clarissa and Jamie were best friends, and that was all they were. Clarissa knew their history and would never do anything to jeopardize Jamie's happiness. Alex trusted Clarissa and knew she had nothing to worry about. One thing that did bother Alex was the fact that Cindy mentioned she saw Jamie at one of her conferences. Jamie hadn't mentioned anything about seeing Cindy, but then maybe that's why Jamie had been stressed out yesterday.

Cindy stood and watched as Alex walked off towards the set, completely ignoring her now. She needed to find a way to get Alex's attention again, somehow. Cindy grabbed her cell phone and continued to call a few numbers that she knew would get her somewhere.

"So did you tell her?" Clarissa asked.

"I almost told her, but then I sort of chickened out." Jamie replied.

Clarissa looked at her friend in disbelief. She couldn't understand Jamie's rationality on the situation.

"Look at your wrist, Jamie. How did she not notice that?"

"We were a little busy and she didn't notice." Jamie said, as she stared at her hands.

"Busy, Jamie?"

Jamie looked up and saw the disbelief in Clarissa's face.

"We hardly ever see each other now and sometimes things just happen. She's my girlfriend, I'm allowed to have sex with—" Jamie said but was cut short by Clarissa putting her hands over her ears.

"I don't want to hear that! Yuck!" Clarissa yelled.

Jamie shrugged and stood up from the couch, "Come on, lets go."

"Where are we going?"

"I'd like to see Alex, so we're going to pay her a visit." Jamie said as she grabbed two helmets off of her dining table.

"Wait, I'm not riding on that bike of yours. I still resent Alex for actually teaching you how to ride one." Clarissa stood with her arms crossed.

"Well then follow me in your car."

They both stood there staring at each other. Clarissa was deep in thought and then quickly grabbed the extra helmet from Jamie's hand. Jamie laughed as they both walked out of her house.

"Why do I have to wear Alex's helmet?" Clarissa whined.

"Deal with it, Clar. Now, hold onto me or you're going to fall off." Jamie replied as she revved up the bike. The silver crotch rocket was a gift from Alex three months ago and Jamie loved riding it through LA. Alex taught her everything she needed to know about riding and especially spent time on safety. When she went to get her license, she passed the first time and loved riding ever since.

Clarissa held onto Jamie, wrapping her arms around Jamie's waist tightly. She hated motorcycles but enjoyed being able to be so close to Jamie without feeling awkward.

"Ready?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah." Clarissa replied. Jamie pulled out of her driveway and drove down through her neighborhood, excited to be able to see Alex at work. Her next conference was later in the evening so she had time to spare. Spending it with the one person she loved the most was on her priority list.

Continued in part 9


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note: Sorry for the delay! hope you enjoy the next part. Throughout this story formatting has been an issue because the site doesn't transfer over any specific edit's so I apologize. Thank you for all of the comments on the story so far, I appreciate the love and am happy you're enjoying it! Onward!**

Jamie pulled her bike up to the studio where Alex was shooting her scenes, and parked in the guest parking space. Clarissa jumped off the bike first, quickly taking her helmet off.

Once Jamie lifted herself off of the bike, they both walked over to the main studio entrance. There was plenty of commotion happening inside that echoed through the entrance, which caused a jolt of excitement to run through her body. Jamie enjoyed this aspect of movie making, and to her it was fun to watch. Once they were able to get through the security crew Jamie started to look for Alex. The crew didn't appear to be filming at the moment, and everyone was spread out in different areas with different departments.

"Where is she?" Clarissa asked.

"I don't know. She's in here somewhere." Jamie replied. She continued to scan the crowd of actors and camera crew.

"Oh my God, Jamie, it's Jack Levine." Clarissa said as she pointed to the famous actor who was sitting down getting his hair touched up.

Jamie smirked and zoned Clarissa out, who kept on naming famous celebrities she spotted on set. Finally, sitting next to a large camera she saw Alex talking to a man behind it. They looked to be in deep conversation about what they were seeing on the screen. Jamie turned to tell Clarissa, but noticed her friend was no longer standing next to her.

The blonde shook her head in disbelief and walked over to where she spotted Alex. The man next to Alex spotted Jamie first and smiled in her direction. Alex noticed and immediately saw who had distracted him.

"Jay! Hey Sweetheart." Alex said, a large smile appearing on her face. She stood up and hugged Jamie tightly, giving Jamie a kiss on the lips and pulling her closer.

"I decided to come see you and say hi before I leave for work." Jamie said.

"You came right on time too. We're taking a short break because some of the lights on the set don't want to behave." Alex said, explaining the situation.

Jamie glanced around at the set, "Sounds serious."

Alex shook her head, "Not really, it happens every once in a while but it's putting us off schedule."

"What are you two doing here behind the camera?" Jamie curiously asked.

"Just reviewing some scenes that I did earlier. We might have to re-shoot them."

"Amazing." Jamie said in awe.

Alex rubbed small circles on Jamie's lower back, smiling as she watched Jamie gawk at the activity around them.

"So where are you going to be working today?" Alex asked, bringing Jamie out of her daze.

"Back at the convention center. Last time I was there I filled the room, so they want me back. Apparently I'm a money maker." Jamie laughed.

"They like what you have to say, Jay. Not to mention that you're very nice to look at." Alex said, a flirty smile crossing her face.

"You might be right about that." Jamie took Alex's hands and intertwined them with her own, pulling her closer. They both laughed, enjoying each other's company. Then Alex spotted Jamie's friend Chatting and giggling like a maniac to one of her co-stars.

"Is that Clarissa?" She asked.

Jamie turned to look and could only nod, rolling her eyes at Clarissa's nervous banter.

"I've never seen a face so red before." Alex said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"She's star struck. Or maybe she's one of those psycho fans, I'm not sure." Jamie said, laughing.

"Speaking of psycho, Cindy paid me a visit earlier." Alex said. She watched as Jamie's eyes turned to meet her own.

"Oh yeah? What did she want?"

"The same bull that she always throws at me, I'm beginning to think she's stalking me. Oh, and have you seen her in the crowd at your seminars?" Alex inquired.

"Why? Did she say she's been to them?" Jamie didn't enjoy the fact that Cindy was still after Alex and really didn't like to hear that she was possibly stalking her girlfriend too.

"She told me that she was at one of your seminars," Alex continued. She didn't want to upset Jamie before work but knew she had to let her know. "Before you leave today I want you to take one of my bodyguards." Alex finished quickly.

Jamie slowly shook her head and abruptly removed her hands from Alex's. "No, Alex. We've talked about this over and over again. I can take care of myself, and I've been doing this for years so I know how to deal with this kind of thing."

Alex tried to take Jamie's hands again but Jamie immediately crossed them.

"Please, Jay! I don't trust Cindy, and it would only be a precaution!" Alex whispered loudly so as not to bring attention to their sudden argument.

"Why don't you just get a restraining order on her, Alex? Why haven't you done that yet?"

"You know I haven't had the time, Jay. We've already talked about this." They both stood their ground, staring at each other.

They were brought out of their stances by the directors' voice calling out for Alex.

"Please, Jay." Alex pleaded, defeat hinted in her words.

"If I say yes, will you get the restraining order on Cindy?"

"Yes, I'll have Steven do it first thing tomorrow."

Jamie thought for a second and nodded, "Fine, but he starts tomorrow then."

Alex smiled and pulled Jamie in for a quick kiss.

"Thank you, and I love you." She said as she pulled away from Jamie.

"I love you too. Now go, they're starting to stare." Jamie said, as she noticed the looks some of the crew were giving them.

Alex chuckled and turned to walk back to the set where she was needed. Jamie stood there for a moment, not really wanting to leave. Clarissa walked up to Jamie, hugging her from behind.

"Hey lady, ready to go?" Clarissa asked.

"Yeah I'm ready."

"You won't believe who I had a conversation with."

"Try me." Jamie replied, as they walked out of the studio.

 **Hollywood Hills**

"Are you going to be there or what?" Cindy asked.

"I told you I would, so stop bugging me about the bitch." Said the gravely voice on the other end of the line.

"Just scare her a little, nothing too serious, you know?"

"I'll do whatever I damn well please, woman." He stated defiantly.

Cindy rolled her eyes and checked the time, only half an hour until Jamie's seminar started. She was starting to lose her patience with the man she had hired to scare Jamie. Max had quickly become unreliable to her a few months earlier so she had just moved on. She wasn't sure if it was the right choice she made but would deal with any consequences later.

"Listen to me you country hick! You'll do as I say-" Cindy said, as she raised her voice, but was interrupted by the man yelling back at her.

"No, you think your money means anything to me? That was just a bonus for me! I hate what this girl is spreadin' with these damn seminars. I've had my sights on her way before you came into the picture. She doesn't belong, and she needs to be stopped!" He yelled.

Cindy had only wanted for him to scare Jamie, maybe push her buttons a little. At this point it was no longer up to her and she didn't enjoy the lack of control she had over the current situation.

"Okay then, you do what you want to do." Cindy whispered, trying to calm the man down.

"I will." The man said, and the line went dead.

"Fuck!" Cindy yelled, the sound echoing in her mansion. She snapped her fingers and a young man quickly walked over to her with a small vile, placing it onto her awaiting hand. She took some of the substance onto her finger and quickly inhaled. She closed her eyes as the warm sensation started to wash through her as all of her worries started to quickly disappear.

 **Convention Center**

Jamie and Clarissa entered the convention center together and quickly walked down the hall that led them backstage. Once backstage, Jamie was greeted by her manager, who was busy flipping through a pile of work schedules for the day.

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder where you were." John commented at Jamie's slightly late arrival.

"Sorry to worry you, John, I got caught up in traffic." Jamie replied.

"Did that traffic include Alex by any chance?" John asked as he looked up at Jamie.

Jamie immediately smiled, he knew her too well after so many years of working for her. Clarissa chuckled next to her and went to sit down next to John.

"How is the movie star doing nowadays?" John asked as he continued to scan the schedules in his hand. Jamie looked at him curiously and couldn't help but notice Johns perplexed look.

"She's great, very busy-uh, John, what are you doing?" Jamie asked. The look on her manager's face had started to worry her.

"It's the oddest thing." He replied.

"What is?"

"These are the schedules for all of the speakers attending our seminars this month, but I can't seem to find your schedules. I know I printed them out, placed them with the rest of the schedules, and they've just disappeared." John said, as he threw the stack of papers back onto the table.

"That _is_ odd." Clarissa agreed, looking through the papers herself.

"I'm sure they've probably just been misplaced. It's okay, we can print out more," Jamie said, patting John on the arm, "Now, how's my audience today?" She continued.

"Filled up all of the seats, Jamie. You are good to go." John replied.

Jamie did a quick once over of herself and then checked her cell phone for any last minute messages. There were none from Alex, so she knew Alex was still extremely busy.

"Alright, John, lead the way." Jamie said. Putting her phone in her pocket, she followed John to the room where she would be speaking.

He had been watching her when she arrived at the convention center with the same woman that interrupted them last time. It seemed like pure luck allowed him to locate her quickly in the parking lot as she rode in on her motorcycle. That was another issue that was now messing with his nerves. In his world women shouldn't have the right to drive a bike like the men, they should only be in the kitchen tending to their husbands. That's what his father had taught him and he knew that to be the truth.

His knuckles grasped his steering wheel tightly as he continued to stare at the bike through his tinted windows, his gray pickup truck easily fitting in with the environment. Snapping out of his thoughts, he grabbed a sheet of paper off of a pile on the passenger seat. He scanned the schedule, which would let him know when Jamie would be finished for the day. He had a few hours to kill and decided to lay back and close his eyes; today he was on a mission.

"And cut! That's a wrap for the day everyone." The director yelled out to the cast and crew.

Alex blew out an exhausted breath and slowly walked off the set. Jamie had left four hours earlier and she desperately wanted to just lay with her girlfriend and relax. Just as she was about to text Jamie, Jack Levine walked up beside her, stretching out his hand.

"You want?" He asked, a charming smile slowly appearing on his face.

Alex looked down into his hand at the small baggy with powder in it.

"No thanks, Jack. You know I've been off of that for a while." She told him knowingly.

"Well a man's got to try. What do you say we go back to my trailer and have some fun?" He tried again, this time making Alex stop in her tracks. Alex turned to face Jack and took the baggy that was still in his hand. She brought it up to her face to inspect the contents and shook her head.

"You really have to get off of this stuff, man." Alex said, stuffing the small bag into his pants pocket.

Jack smirked, "I know what I can get off on, Alex. Come on, let's go."

"I have a girlfriend, and you know that. Not to mention, you don't have the right package buddy." Alex replied, smiling.

"Really, Alex? Not even for an old friend like me?" Jack asked playfully.

Alex punched his shoulder and continued to walk to her own trailer, "You're crazy, Jack, go home to your wife and kids."

"One day, Alexandra!" He shouted as she closed her trailer door on him.

Alex grabbed the few belongings she had in her trailer and thought back on a time when she would've accepted Jack's offer of drugs.

 ** _West Hollywood_**

 _It was midnight and Alex had just walked into the most talked about club in Hollywood. You could always find celebrities hanging out in their own corners with drugs and booze, surrounded by adoring fans to give them the attention they wanted and craved._

 _Once Alex spotted her friends in the back VIP section, she headed that way through the crowd of gyrating bodies. Before she got to the table she was grabbed from the side and pulled towards a hot, sweaty body. Alex didn't know who the woman was, but didn't have time for introductions as the strangers lips met her own. She instantly melted into the kiss hungrily and quickly found a sensual sway to the music. Alex pulled back and took the girls hand, leading her to the VIP table._

 _"_ _Alex, there you are! You brought a friend!" Steven shouted over the music._

 _The girl hung off of Alex, clearly already intoxicated._

 _"_ _I just met her on the dance floor!" Alex shouted back at the table. Everyone at the table nodded or just ignored her, not really caring about the girl or where she came from. Alex took that as a sign to sit down and brought the girl down with her, onto her lap._

 _"_ _Hey, Alex, join in." Jack said, as he rolled up a dollar bill and immediately snorted up the powder on the table._

 _Alex smiled, grabbed a dollar from the middle of the table and rolled it. She offered her newfound friend some of the drugs first, which she happily took._

 _"_ _Alright!" Alex yelled in excitement. It was her turn as she snatched the rolled up dollar from the girl. Alex lowered her head towards the table and quickly inhaled. Immediately her senses dulled and she sat back smiling. The girl in her lap turned around to straddle Alex as she placed her lips over Alex's lips. The noise around them was quickly zoned out, and no one bothered to interrupt the two women. The night continued like that, with sex, drugs and dancing._

Alex shook her head, trying to erase the memories of that night from her mind. She was an asshole for treating a woman the way she did that night, and only hoped that that same girl was doing something better with her time now.

Alex decided to drive to her house after work and sent Jamie a text, letting her know where she'd be. She was exhausted and just wanted to relax at home, no paparazzi, no journalists and definitely no stalker ex lovers. Once past the gates that led to her driveway, she automatically relaxed. Alex parked her car in the garage and suddenly remembered she had to call Steven.

Her long strides took her quickly into the main hall of her home as the phone rang, waiting for Steven to pick up.

"Hey," Steven answered.

"Hey, I need you to do me a favor." Alex said while kicking off her shoes in the living room.

"What do you need, love?" He asked Alex.

"I need for you to place one of my bodyguards with Jamie starting tomorrow." Alex sat back on the couch, turning on the television.

"Why, what's going on?" Steven asked, suddenly concerned at the request.

"Can you just call one of them and have them meet me at my home tomorrow afternoon?" Alex said. She didn't feel like getting into the conversation about the incident that happened earlier.

Steven sighed impatiently, "So you're not going to tell me what changed recently." He stated.

"Can we talk about it later because I'm exhausted." Alex closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on and wasn't currently in the mood to talk to anyone about anything.

"Ok fine, I'll get it done. But we're going to talk later about this." Stevens' no nonsense tone caused a tiny smile to appear on Alex's face.

"Yes, we will. I'm hanging up now." Alex said quickly and pressed the 'end call' button. During the call she hadn't noticed Sofia bring her a glass of wine, placing it on the table next to her. Once she spotted the glass, she took a slow sip and sat back again. She was fully relaxed and decided to check her phone for any messages. Disappointed that there were no messages from Jamie she decided to watch TV until she arrived.

Once the seminar ended, Jamie stopped to speak with a few people for a couple of minutes. When she felt it was ready to leave and she had spoken to everyone she could, Jamie went to look for Clarissa.

She spotted Clarissa speaking to John and walked towards both her friends.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but I'm ready go." Jamie said.

"So soon?" John asked.

Jamie only nodded, a tiny smile appearing on her face. Clarissa took that as a sign of her friend being tired so she quickly jumped in.

"Okay, I'll go and grab our helmets. Be right back." Clarissa said; patting Johns' shoulder as she walked passed him.

"Alright, Jamie, I'll give you a call when the next seminar is coming up." John said.

"Sounds good to me, and don't forget to start putting the schedules in your blackberry. There was a reason why those things were invented." Jamie replied. Her tone was soft, but she was still serious.

John nodded and unconsciously started to play with his phone in his pocket. "I'll do that, Jamie, if you go and get some rest. You look tired."

"It's been a long day." Jamie looked down at her phone and saw the message that she had received from Alex. When she looked back up she saw Clarissa walking towards them with both helmets in her arms.

"Ladies, I'll see you later." John said once Clarissa had walked up to them.

"Later, John." Clarissa replied.

Jamie gave him a quick hug before he walked off; then grabbed her helmet from Clarissa.

"I'm going to drop you off at my house, I'll be heading to Alex's tonight." Jamie said as they both walked out of the convention center.

Clarissa's brows rose, " Planning something special tonight?" She asked.

"No, I'm just tired and I feel like I haven't seen Alex in a very long time." Jamie sighed.

"You just saw her this morning." Clarissa muttered under her breath.

"I heard that." Jamie replied as she gave Clarissa a side-glance.

Clarissa just shrugged and started to look for Jamie's bike once they made it outside. She saw Jamie's bike in the same parking spot surrounded by many other cars that had obviously not left the convention center yet.

A couple of spots down the line sat the white pick up truck, it was in perfect view of the motorcycle and once the two women made it to their vehicle, he could clearly hear them talking. With his windows rolled down he quickly opened his eyes and spotted his obsession. Jamie had already put on her helmet and sat down, revving the engine as Clarissa made herself comfortable behind her.

He started his car, rolled up his tinted windows and waited until Jamie backed out of her spot. He knew what he wanted at that moment so he decided to follow her wherever she went. As Jamie exited the parking lot, so did the white pickup truck behind them. Jamie wasn't going very fast so he was able to keep up with them in the Los Angeles traffic. The sweat beaded on his forehead, not because of the temperature, but because of his excitement. The adrenaline was rushing through him at such a quick speed, he would finally find out where Jamie lived.

About twenty minutes later, Jamie pulled up into her driveway and the white truck stopped about a house down on the curb of the road. He was sure that she hadn't spotted him yet, he was very careful with that aspect. Now he knew where Jamie lived and that was all that mattered to him. He watched as her friend got off of the motorcycle, with Jamie staying on it.

"What the hell?" The man spat.

Clarissa got into her own car, backed out of the driveway and drove off. Jamie on the other hand stayed on her motorcycle and backed out as well. She was now facing the white truck as he started his car again. The bike revved passed him, and he cursed as he needed to make a u-turn to follow her.

"Where the hell are you going, bitch?"

Jamie hadn't noticed anything suspicious going on behind her as she drove to Alex's house. Then again, she wasn't looking for a car that could possibly be following her. As she turned into the gated community, the white truck slowly drove by, knowing he wouldn't be able to get in that evening.

He continued to drive with a grin plastered on his face because he now knew where she lived, and he had great plans for her.

Jamie parked her bike in the garage next to Alex's motorcycle and quickly let herself into the main house. Everything seemed to be very calm and quiet, except for the low volume of the television coming from the family room. Jamie placed her keys on the kitchen counter and walked quietly to where the noise was coming from. There, lay Alex, completely knocked out next to an empty glass of what looked to be wine. She smiled at this and turned off the TV that was clearly not being watched.

Slowly leaning over Alex, she placed a soft kiss on her lips and stopped to admire her girlfriend. Sometimes Jamie still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that they were together again. There were old habits that Alex still had, and new ones that she'd never seen before, but Jamie was willing to learn them all over again.

"I love you." Jamie whispered.

"I love you too." Alex whispered back as she opened her eyes.

"Were you up that whole time?" Jamie asked, looking into sleepy blue eyes.

Alex smiled and stretched her arms out, pulling Jamie onto her lap.

"I might have been." Alex replied.

Jamie laid her head on Alex's shoulder and kissed her exposed neck. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages. I never get quality time with you like this." Jamie said, laying her head back down.

Alex ran her fingers through Jamie's hair, "I know, and I'm sorry, Jay."

"I know you have to work and make everyone happy, but I miss you, that's all."

"We're together now. Let's go and do something about that." Alex grinned widely.

"Oh yeah?" Jamie asked with an equally wide smile.

"I'm never too tired for that you know." Alex whispered as she leaned into Jamie's mouth. They kissed tenderly, taking their time with each other's mouths. Alex had wanted Jamie all day, whether it was physically or mentally, she wanted her.

She never got tired of Jamie's touch or her body's reaction to her own. Everything about Jamie amazed her and she wanted so badly to show her.

"Let's take this to the room." Alex hotly whispered against Jamie's lips.

Jamie nodded, "Okay, lead the way."

Once they entered the large room, they took no time with removing their clothes. They quickly tossed them aside, and they lay forgotten. Alex crawled onto the bed after Jamie and laid her body down fully on top of her. The sensation of skin against skin caused goose bumps to appear all over her own skin as she shivered with excitement.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Jamie asked. She felt a change in Alex and wanted to make sure everything was fine.

Alex nodded, her eyes half lidded as she went back in for another taste of Jamie's lips. Their hands intertwined while the friction between them became even more intense and heated.

Jamie groaned at the contact and hissed in pleasure as Alex sharply nipped at her neck.

"You like that, sweetheart?" Alex whispered. She knew Jamie loved it, but her admitting it made it even sexier.

"Yeah." Jamie nodded, biting her own lower lip.

Alex gave her the most sexiest smile right before she continued what she was doing to her body. If anyone were in the house at that moment and for the next two hours, they would have run out of the house blushing. The many moans and groans of their passion echoed through the large mansion, but they didn't care one bit.

To be continued in Part 10


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Note: I apologize for the wait, this has actually been written for a while but work has me quite a busy gal. Thank you again for the comments/feedback. I like comments and like to hear what you think, keeps me motivated. Thanks again!

The morning came quickly for the two women lying in bed, tangled in the sheets. Jamie's arm was splayed out across Alex's back, who was starting to awaken. Alex slowly moved from underneath Jamie's arm, trying not to wake her up. Once completely out of bed, Alex looked down at the sleeping woman and couldn't control the contented sigh from escaping her lips. Walking around the strewn clothes on the floor, Alex stepped into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.

On the bed, Jamie was fully awake, having woken up when Alex removed herself from under her arm. She heard the shower turn on and slowly turned over, letting out a long yawn. She knew Alex had to shoot on location today so she quickly lifted herself off of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She could see Alex's shadow behind the frosted glass and decided to join her girlfriend inside as well. Jamie opened the shower door and closed it behind her so none of the heat would escape.

Alex was facing her, a grin on the taller woman's face. "Well good morning, did I wake you?" Alex asked, as the warm water and soap slid down her body.

"It's alright, I had to get up anyway." Jamie shrugged.

"Don't pretend that you didn't want to see me before I left." Alex teased her, blowing a few soapy bubbles in Jamie's face.

Jamie grabbed Alex's arm and wrapped it around her slick waist, pulling Alex in for a morning kiss. "Of course I wanted to see you before you left, I never see you anymore these days, and this is rare." Jamie said, once she pulled back from the kiss.

Alex nodded, pulling Jamie closer to her again and gave the softest of kisses to her neck. "Last night was great by the way," Jamie managed to get out during Alex's assault down her neck. "But if you continue what you're doing, you're going to be late for your call time." Jamie continued.

"You're right." Alex sighed. She disentangled herself from the warm, wet woman in front of her, grabbed the bar of soap and glided it sensually over her body.

"Oh come on!" Jamie reproached.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Stop teasing me."

Alex's grin widened, eyes sparkling; she was getting a kick out of her squirming girlfriend. "Hey, you're the one that followed me in here." Which was followed by a playful slap to her backside by Jamie.

A few minutes later both women were completely dressed and ready to go. Alex was wearing gray sweat pants and a purposefully ripped wife beater. She didn't have to worry about what she wore because her wardrobe department figured that out for her.

"So what location are you guys going to be filming at today?" Jamie asked, while brushing her hair.

"Well, I'll be driving to the studio first and that's where I'll be meeting Steven. From there, him and I will be taking a flight down to Palm Springs."

"I love Palm Springs, I wish I could go." Jamie said as a frown appeared on her face.

"You can, just cancel whatever you're doing today." Alex replied.

"I can't do that, Alex. People rely on me, just like your people rely on you." Just as Jamie said that, there was a knock on their bedroom door.

"Alexandra, there is a large man downstairs who says he was sent by Steven." Sophia spoke through the door. Jamie looked up at Alex, her eyebrow slightly raised in question.

"A large man?" Jamie asked to Alex's retreating figure.

Alex opened the bedroom door for Sophia, arms both resting on her hips. "Good morning, Sophia, where is he?" She asked, straight to the point.

"He's downstairs waiting on you. Good morning Jamie." Sophia said, as Jamie walked up behind Alex at the door.

"Morning Sophia. Hey, Alex, where are you going?" Jamie asked. Alex had already started to make her way down the stairs towards the family room. She stopped before reaching the bottom, turning to look at Jamie. "It's your bodyguard that I said I was going to assign to you."

Jamie internally rolled her eyes, remembering their conversation the day before, that she agreed to have an escort with her wherever she went. The only thing she could muster was a nod of her head as Alex took a last look at her. Once Alexandra disappeared around the corner, Jamie could hear her greet the man and decided to go downstairs as well.

In the family room Alex was seated next to the man who was going to be at Jamie's side from now on. He was blond, and was wearing a tight fit t-shirt that accentuated his muscles underneath, and Jeans. He could have easily passed for a quarter back on some random NFL team. He was closely listening to Alex's every word regarding Jamie's occupation and her whereabouts, only nodding to confirm.

When Jamie walked into the family room, both Alex and the escort looked up.

"Jamie, this is Dyson, your new escort." Alex introduced, as Dyson stood to shake Jamie's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jamie."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Dyson is going to be going with you to your seminars. He's going to drive you there and anywhere else you need to go." Alex stated.

Jamie already didn't like the idea of having Dyson drive her everywhere she needed to be, she could drive herself, and she was not going to be a passenger on her own bike. All of those thoughts went through her head, and she needed to talk to Alex privately before she left.

"Can I speak with you, Alex?" Jamie asked, smiling towards Dyson who sat back down.

Alex excused herself from the family room and followed Jamie, who was walking away towards the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, crossing her arms.

"Are you serious?" Jamie replied.

"I thought we agreed that you would have a bodyguard with you from now on."

"We did agree on that, but I thought this was only for my seminars. I don't need him to be with me everywhere else I go. I don't need a driver." Jamie objected.

"I'd prefer if he drove you, why are you making this such a big deal?" Alex asked. She was starting to get upset and a little impatient.

" _I'm_ making it a big deal? Why are you?" Jamie angrily answered back.

Alex stood quietly; she didn't want to argue about this now, especially with Dyson sitting just outside of the kitchen.

"Jay, we're together, and because of who I am I would feel better if you always had someone at your side."

Jamie's shoulders slumped in defeat. She didn't want to argue anymore, and knew that Alex just wanted her to be safe because of the status she held in Hollywood. Jamie hadn't responded yet to Alex's last statement and wasn't going to be able to because Alex's cell phone started to ring.

"I have to take this." Alex said, pulling the cell out of her pocket. She walked away from Jamie towards the garage, disappearing through the door.

Steven happened to be the one who had called her, wanting to make sure that Dyson arrived on time at her home. Once the call was over, Alex walked back into the main house and found Jamie and Dyson talking in the kitchen.

"I need to head over to the studio now. I'll give you a call when I'm in Palm Springs, Okay?" Alex said to Jamie as she walked up to her. Jamie nodded and embraced Alex, kissing her softly on her lips.

"I'll be fine, Alex." Jamie whispered.

"I love you." Alex replied, caressing Jamie's hair.

"Love you too."

Jamie knew she was going to have to get used to having a bodyguard and someone following her all of the time. She would have to get used to it, but she didn't have to like it. Once Alex stepped out she was left with Dyson who was at the table drinking a glass of water.

"I have to leave in a few, I guess you'll be driving." Jamie said, looking at the large man occupying their table.

"Alright, lets do this." He replied.

xxxxxx

The pickup truck pulled up into Jamie's driveway and noticed that no one seemed to be home. "What are the odds?" He whispered to himself.

Stepping out of the truck he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. He knew Jamie wasn't home but wanted to make sure. Once he was absolutely sure, he went to walk around the house and noticed a screened in porch in the back. His thoughts ran rampant and knew that he could definitely use that to his advantage. He noted all the windows that were within reach, including all entrances to the house. He walked back to the front of the home with a tight smile on his face, no one was watching him and the neighborhood was very quiet. The game he was about to play already had him in the lead and he didn't intend to lose. Getting back into his car, he backed out of the driveway and drove off.

xxxxxx

"So, you seem a little stressed out today." Steven commented. They had made it to the airport and onto Alex's private jet. She'd been tense and quiet on the ride to the airport, and Steven knew something was up.

"Jamie wasn't too keen on having Dyson around." She waved the flight attendant over, asking for a glass of wine.

"Why? Bodyguards are fun, and they do things for you."

"She's just very independent, she's always been. Jamie isn't used to people following her around, she doesn't like it." Alex took the glass from the flight attendant and quickly finished what was in it.

"Slow down there, Alex." Steven said.

Alex rolled her eyes and glanced at Steven who was sitting in a seat across the aisle.

"You don't want to end up wasted once we land."

"You know what, Steven, at this point I don't care." Alex replied, with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Are you having second thoughts of being with Jamie?"

"Of course not! I love her so much and I just want her to be happy."

Steven smiled; he knew the answer to the question before she even replied.

"I bet the sex is awesome." He continued.

Nodding her head slowly, Alex grinned from ear to ear. "Its not just awesome, Steven, its mind blowing. She does things to my body that—"

"Hey! I didn't ask for that much information sister!" Steven interrupted.

"Oh, but she does this thing with her tongue—" Alex teased.

"God! Pretend I never said anything! Since the sex is so mind blowing, you shouldn't be so stressed out. She'll get over Dyson following her."

"I guess so, I just have this tiny feeling of dread in the very back of my mind." She admitted.

"It doesn't include this plane crashing does it?"

"No, nothing like that." Alex replied as she looked out the window at the passing clouds.

xxxxxx

"That's a pretty cool thing you have going there with your seminars." Dyson said. He looked in the rear view mirror at Jamie sitting in the back seat. They were leaving the parking lot of the convention center an hour later than she'd expected. The seminar had run over time, causing her to miss Alex's call when she'd landed in Palm Springs.

"Thanks, I enjoy what I do." Jamie smiled, finding Dyson's eyes on her in the mirror.

They didn't notice the truck following closely behind them out of the parking lot and into the traffic filled street, and Jamie was texting Alex, letting her know she'd call once she reached her own home.

Twenty minutes later they had pulled up into Jamie's driveway.

"Thanks for dropping me off here, Dyson, I appreciate your time today." She said as she opened the back door to get out.

"No problem, Jamie, I'll be by again tomorrow."

"Okay, see you then." Closing the door she walked into her home and quickly sat down on the couch.

The truck that was following them pulled up into Jamie's driveway once Dyson had driven off, it was time for his game to play out. The handcuffs clinked in his pocket as he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Jamie glanced at the door, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. As she walked up to her front door, her phone started to ring, which quickly distracted her. It was sitting on the coffee table in the living room and for a second she thought of going back to answer it first. In that second she changed her mind, unlocked the door, and forgetting to check through the peephole first, she opened the door.

She was surprised to see that it wasn't Dyson.

"Can I help you?" She questioned, her cell phone still ringing on the coffee table.

"Yeah, you can." He pushed himself through the opening, knocking Jamie down onto the hardwood floor. He quickly slammed the door shut behind him as he looked down at Jamie.

Jamie looked up at the man, fear clearly evident in her eyes as she slowly backed away from him. She couldn't place where she'd seen the man before but knew for sure that she needed to get out.

He walked closer to Jamie, smiling down at her, admiring his prey.

"Do you know why I'm here?" he asked.

Jamie couldn't muster any words but only shook her head at his question.

"SPEAK UP!" He yelled out at her.

Jamie flinched and tried to get up from her kneeling position. Her cell phone had stopped ringing for a few seconds but continued up again.

"I didn't say you could get up, did I?" he whispered to her as he knelt down next to her. "Now, do you know why I'm here?" His foul breath hit her in the face, reeking of stale cigarettes and bad oral hygiene.

"N-no," Jamie managed to say. "Please don't hurt me, I'll give you anything."

He started laughing but kept staring at her, amused at her fear. "I already have what I want here." He then took the handcuffs that he brought with him shook them in Jamie's face.

"These are for you."

Jamie knew that if he put those handcuffs on her she would have a lesser chance of getting out of her home, so she did the only thing she could think of. She kicked the foul smelling man in the face as hard as she could and got up, running to the front door.

The man grunted loudly and grabbed Jamie's leg before she could get hold of the door handle. "You stupid bitch!" Yanking hard he brought her down onto the floor. Jamie landed hard on her right arm and yelped in pain when she heard a pop. She turned, trying to wrestle him off of her while he tried to subdue her. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her face towards his.

"Are you stupid?" He hissed at her.

"Please, just let me go." Jamie whimpered.

"No, I'm not gonna let you outta my site now." He grabbed her arms and snapped the handcuffs on her roughly.

Jamie cried out, the handcuffs digging into her wrists harshly.

"Get up bitch." He said, as he pulled her up by the middle chain of the handcuffs.

Jamie's phone started to ring again, but this time the man grabbed it off of the coffee table, shoving Jamie onto the couch.

"Well look at this. Three missed calls from Alex and two from Clarissa. I think your friend and girlfriend want your attention." Pressing the power button at the top of the phone, he turned it off and placed it in his pants pocket. As the phone slid into his pocket, a worse feeling of fear came over Jamie. Her connection to the outside world was gone.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Tyler, and you're Jamie. You're with Alexandra Davenport and I hate your kind."

"My kind?" Jamie was confused.

"You women, making lives like men, driving your motorcycles like men and spreading you message of abomination." Tyler spat.

A light bulb went off in Jamie's head and she remembered who this man was. He was the same man who had approached her at one of her seminars a while back. He'd been following her this whole time.

"Please, just let me go Tyler, I wont say anything about this." The words rushed out of Jamie's mouth.

Too quick for Jamie to comprehend what happened, Tyler slapped her hard across her face, opening a cut on her lower lip. Jamie shook her head as a ringing in her ears resonated loudly.

"That's what you deserve, Jamie. I want you and Alex to suffer, and I'll make sure of it; we're going to have so much fun."

Jamie was scared, but another element was starting to seep into her emotions, anger.

"They're going to come looking for me, and you won't get away with this!" Jamie said, blood dripping down her chin.

A look of pure hatred passed over Tyler's face and the next thing Jamie felt was his hands wrapped around her neck, squeezing. She couldn't catch her breath no matter how much she tried. All Jamie knew was that after a few seconds her arms and legs started to feel as if small needles were pricking her multiple times; and an unbelievable burn was entering her lungs. Her first thoughts were of Alex, and how their second chance of a life together might quickly be cut short.

xxxxxx

"Jamie, it's me, your best friend. Alex called me and wanted to know if you were ok. Apparently she can't get in touch with you and I see I cant either. Well anyway, I'm on my way over to your place. Call Alex for God's sake, she's really worried about you." Clarissa finished leaving her message on Jamie's phone. The call had gone directly to voicemail this time, and Clarissa thought it strange. Alex had called her, wanting to know if she'd seen Jamie today after the seminar because Jamie wasn't answering her phone.

Before deciding to call Alex back, she would stop over at Jamie's first.

A few minutes later Clarissa was driving down Jamie's neighborhood. As she drew closer to Jamie's driveway, she noticed a pickup truck parked right in the middle of it. _Interesting,_ Clarissa thought. She'd never seen a car like this parked at Jamie's house and Jamie hadn't told her that she was having any visitors. She pulled up next to the mysterious truck and parked. Stepping out of her car she decided to check out the pickup for a second or two; it didn't have any decals on it from a company, which piqued her interest some more.

Once she was done checking out the vehicle she walked up to Jamie's front door and was about to knock first until she heard a mans raised voice coming from inside. Instinctively she tried to break open the door, but as soon as she turned the knob the door flung open.

What she saw caught her by complete surprise. A man stood over Jamie on the couch with his hands wrapped around Jamie's neck.

"Oh my God, Jamie!" Clarissa's surprise was quickly turning into rapid fear.

Tyler was startled when Clarissa had entered the home and quickly let go of Jamie. Jamie fell face first into the couch gasping for breath, not completely understanding what just happened.

Tyler pulled out a gun that was strapped inside of his jacket and pointed it directly at Clarissa's face. "Get the fuck out of here, lady."

Clarissa's arms swung up into the air by instinct and she glanced quickly at Jamie who was still lying on the couch coughing.

"I'm just here to get my friend." Clarissa was scared to death.

"You aren't here for anything, but since you ruined our party, we're going to be leaving and you're going to stay right here." He continued to point the gun at Clarissa as he backed away towards Jamie. "Don't you move!" He yelled when it seemed Clarissa was going to lower her arms.

Tyler yanked Jamie off of the couch and noticed the bruising that was starting to appear on Jamie's neck. "Looks like I left you some love marks there, Jamie."

"Please don't hurt her anymore." Clarissa pleaded.

"Get your ass over there." Tyler pointed to the living room.

As she passed by, she looked at Jamie; whose eyes were filled with despair. She had tear tracks running down her cheeks and onto her shirt.

"It's going to be ok, Jay." Clarissa whispered.

Jamie nodded, not for herself but for Clarissa.

Once Clarissa was standing in the living room, Tyler shoved Jamie out of the front door first. Clarissa's presence was something that he wasn't expecting to occur and that had thrown a dent in his plans; he had to think quickly.

"You and I are going for a ride. Do you think Alex will miss you? She seems too busy to even be with you nowadays, huh?"

Jamie refused to answer to anything Tyler asked her. He shoved her into his cars front seat and placed the seat belt over her cuffed wrists. She had no clue where they were heading, but Clarissa's presence in the house gave her a glimmer of hope.

xxxxxx

"911, what is your emergency?"

"My friend…a man took her…he was choking her and he kidnapped her! You have to send someone quick!"

"Do you know what type of car he was driving?"

"Uh-uh white pickup truck…please!"

After giving the 911 Operator the rest of the information they needed she quickly speed dialed Alex.

Alex answered on the third ring.

"Have you spoken with Jay, Clarissa?"

"Alex, listen to me…something's happened!" Clarissa was breathing hard and looking outside of the window waiting for the police to come.

Alex rapidly took herself out of the crowded studio to hear more clearly.

"What do you mean that something's happened, is Jay alright? I want to speak with her!" Alex was close to panicking now. All day during filming she'd felt uneasy and many times had to stop a scene to clear her head and start over.

"A man took her, Alex. I-I walked in on him choking her and I've called the police."

Alex couldn't believe was she was hearing and she started to get very nauseous.

"Did he say anything about a ransom?" Alex asked. Was it possible that this person took Jamie for money? She thought.

"No." Clarissa stated. "You have to come over here now, Alex."

Alex could hear the sirens on the other end of the line. The police had arrived and she needed to be there; she needed to find Jamie.

"I'm on my way, Clarissa." Alex quickly hung up.

xxxxxx

"Wait, slow down! What are you saying?" Steven followed Alex into the SUV, which was going to take them to the airport.

"I'm saying that someone has taken Jamie. Someone's taken her because of me. Clarissa is with the police now talking to them."

"Clarissa is talking to the police…has she mentioned that Jamie is dating you? That's going to come out really quick and this is not going to be good." Steven spoke nervously. He paused when he notice the way Alex was looking at him.

"How the fuck can you just sit there and talk to me about what is not good for me as far as publicity?! Jamie is my partner, and I love her. Do you have any idea how scared she probably is right now?!" Alex yelled at Steven. A lone tear crawled slowly down her face but she quickly wiped it away.

"I'm sorry Alex…I don't know what got into me." Steven lowered his head, embarrassed at his insensitivity.

They had about ten minutes of silence after that until they reached the airport.

xxxxxx

Tyler was driving as fast as possible, swerving through the busy Los Angeles streets. He needed to find a place to take Jamie where no one would find her. During the drive his cell phone rang and the first thing he did was answer it.

"What do you want, Cindy, I'm a little busy at the moment."

Jamie turned to look at him, it was just too coincidental that he was talking to someone named Cindy, who happened to have been following Alex around everywhere these days.

"None of your goddamn business what I'm doing! Don't you have a movie that you need to be filming somewhere?" He spat at the phone, angrily.

Jamie's whole world came crashing down at that moment. Cindy knew this man who held her captive. Did that mean that Alex was in danger too?

"Well to hell with you too." Tyler replied as he threw his phone behind his seat.

"Where are we going, Tyler?" Jamie forced out as much as possible. Hurt throat was killing her.

"How about we listen to the radio."

He completely ignored her question and turned the radio on to what seemed like the news.

"Police say the suspect is a white male driving a white pickup truck. Reports are saying that he's kidnapped Alexandra Davenport's girlfriend for money. Can you give us more information…"

"Well, looks like they know you're gone. Must have been your stupid bitch of a friend, I should have just shot her there." Tyler grinned. He heard a sniffle to his right and turned a little to see Jamie crying.

"Don't cry!" He yelled. Tyler roughly caressed Jamie's face, and when he saw her flinch away from his touch he grabbed her by the hair; pushing her face into the passenger window.

"I was just trying to wipe your tears away. I have a question Jamie…" He started to caress her face again while driving on the highway. "When you and Alexandra fuck, who's usually on top, I bet it's her isn't it?"

Jamie head was pounding and she could no longer control her anger. Taking advantage of the situation, she bit down on Tyler's fingers when they rubbed against her cut lip.

"Stupid bitch!"

He yanked hard to remove his hand from Jamie's mouth, and in doing so he lost control of the steering and swerved sharply into the opposite lane. The pickup jumped the median, causing it to turn sharply into oncoming cars. All Jamie could do was close her eyes as she was jostled around. She could hear Tyler cursing, trying to control the car but unfortunately unable to. The next thing Jamie heard was the squeal of tires and felt the car being hit on her side. The force of the impact immediately indented her door, causing it to dig into her right thigh. She yelled in agony at the metal cutting into her skin. There was nothing she could hold onto as the car continued to spin, her passenger window shattering as glass flew into her face.

"SHIT!" Tyler shouted as another car hit them, this time on the driver side.

The pile up continued as more and more cars tried to stop but couldn't. Trying to get out of the situation Tyler shifted in reverse, slamming into a car behind them.

"What are you doing?! Please stop!" Jamie shouted at him.

Shifting again, he put the car in drive. The only thing he was worried about was getting away. As he tried to drive off against the running traffic, a large SUV slammed into the backside at high speed. Everything seemed to go into slow motion for Jamie as the pickup flipped over multiple times, shattering all of the windows in the car. The seat belt cut into her lower abdomen and chest as she was unable to hold onto anything to brace herself. Pieces of debris flew around inside and it was almost as if they were floating in the enclosed area. When the car finally stopped, Jamie was hanging upside down. She slowly looked towards the driver side, but didn't see what she expected to see. The seat was empty, no more Tyler. Nothing was really registering in Jamie's head at that moment. Her hair hung over her face, which had pieces of glass clinging to the strands. Her body was on sensory overload as she hung there, blood dripping down her face and her leg. The voices she heard outside sounded panicked and some people were even crying. She coughed, as she tried to clear whatever was sitting in her throat. More blood dripped down her mouth as she tried to cough it up. _What's happening? I need to get out._ When she tried to move in her seat, a searing pain flowed through her body causing her to gasp as she saw spots in her vision. The spots continued to increase as the pain increased, and she finally blacked out to the sound of sirens in the distance.

To be continued in Part 11


	11. Chapter 11

_**I hope you enjoy this installment of Surviving The Storm! Many of you have emailed me and messaged me, I apologize for the long wait and any typos, Enjoy!**_

* * *

Once Alex and Steven landed at LAX Airport, Alex was more than ready to walk off of the plane. The flight had been tense between her and Steven; she just wanted to know what the situation was with Jamie.

Her private jet slowly made its way onto the tarmac making a complete stop before the pilot released the stairs, which led to a waiting vehicle. Not wasting any time, Alex grabbed her belongings and hurried down the stairs to the parked car. Steven followed her into the car and quickly slammed the door behind him as the driver immediately sped off. Once situated, Alex gave the driver the directions to Jamie's house and proceeded to call Clarissa.

"Alex, thank God. Where are you?" Clarissa asked.

"I'm on my way there now. Any word on Jamie?"

"No, I've given them all of the information they wanted and now it's just a waiting game. The cops want to talk to you." Clarissa watched through the front window as the police circled outside the house.

"My plane just landed so I should be there in a few minutes." Alex replied. The tension in her shoulders seemed to expand throughout the rest of her body and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Something like this had never happened to her and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.

"Oh and Alex, there are a lot of those paparazzi guys out in the street. I swear I didn't say anything, I only gave the information to the cops." Clarissa explained.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes in frustration. The press had already gotten wind of the situation and she knew they were going to make a field day out of it, they always did.

"Don't worry, Clarissa. I'll take care of them; just take care of yourself until I get there." Alex's voice came out soft and calm, but on the inside she was a raging inferno. She wanted to scream and strangle the man who was putting them through this. She wanted to _kill_ him. "I'll see you in a few." Alex finished as she hung up.

Steven was next to her listening to the entire conversation. "Everything okay?" He asked. Alex gave no response to his question and continued to look out of her window at the cars passing slowly on the freeway. It was only until she noticed that they hadn't been moving in a while that she saw police diverting traffic ahead.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Looks like they're diverting us down another road. Maybe there's an accident up ahead." The driver answered.

"This is just great! I need to get to my girlfriends house _now_. Is there a faster way we can get through?"

"I can only go where they direct us to, Ms. Davenport."

Alex sat back in her seat and could only watch as multiple ambulances passed by. The day was not going in her favor at all.

* * *

The ringing in her head started to increase, and when it seemed to reach its peak she jerked awake. Jamie blinked a few times to take in her surroundings; she was still upside down. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and she couldn't completely comprehend what was going on anymore.

To her right she could hear something, rather, _someone_ talking. Their voice seemed as if they were talking underwater; muffled; distorted.

"Ma'am, can you understand what I'm saying…we're going to get you out…can you hear me?"

Jamie attempted to turn her head toward the voice.

"No, don't move, just listen to me, okay?" the voice asked.

The distorted sounds slowly turned into words for Jamie, and everything suddenly started to become clear. She needed to get out. Jamie began to thrash in the seat and cried out in frustration when nothing happened. The handcuffs were digging into her wrists even more now that she was hanging upside down, creating brand new cuts underneath.

"Stop moving, ma'am! You're going to hurt yourself more."

"I…need…" She tried to get the words out, but her brain wasn't allowing it.

"It's ok, what do you need?" The voice asked softly.

"Alex…please…" Jamie's focus was decreasing and as much as she wanted to speak up, she couldn't.

"Stay with me. Hey, can you tell me your name?" He asked.

Jamie could still hear him speaking to her, but her mind was in a fog, and suddenly she couldn't breathe very well.

The paramedic noticed the labored breathing and he also noticed the handcuffs tightly wrapped around her wrists. He wasn't sure what was going on, but they needed to get her out fast. There were so many casualties that it was taking his crew longer to get to her through all of the chaos. At that moment his colleague came running up next to him and kneeled near the broken window.

"What have we got?" she asked.

"Female, she's handcuffed and trapped. Possible internal bleeding; head wounds; she's barely responding."

His colleague removed a knife from her pocket and gave it to him.

"Why the hell is she handcuffed?" she asked.

"Hell if I know." He answered as he started to cut away the seat belt. "You have the backboard ready?"

"Yup."

"Hey, can you tell me your name?" He repeated again as he sliced through the rough cloth. He noticed the blue tint of her lips and turned around to his partner.

"I need some oxygen over here!"

"Alex…" Jamie whispered.

"Your name is Alex?" He responded as he placed the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, securing it around her head. "She says her name is Alex." He yelled behind him to his partner.

Once he cut her loose from the seat belt they had carefully pulled her out of the car and strapped her to the backboard.

"She have any ID on her?" His partner asked.

"Not sure but I'm seeing an abdominal injury here, possibly from the seat belt." He replied as he cut open her shirt. "She also has injuries to her upper torso across her chest. We need to get her out of here quick."

Once they were situated in the ambulance the first paramedic on the scene was speaking to the hospital regarding Jamie's injuries. They had yet to take the handcuffs off which were still a mystery to them and would more than likely get the police involved. During the call, Jamie's vitals plummeted and he knew he needed to try everything he could to save the young woman.

"ETA!" He yelled to his partner who was speeding down the highway.

"Five minutes!"

"Stay with me, Alex. We're almost there." He whispered to the unconscious pale woman.

* * *

Alex and Steven had finally made it to Jamie's home and were greeted as always with paparazzi. The police quickly created a path for Alex to come out of the car, pushing anyone that got too close out of the way. Alex removed herself from the car first and was greeted by a large man in a suit. He guided her to the front door, away from the flashing cameras and into the house.

Clarissa sprung from her seated position on the couch when she saw Alex enter with the detective.

"You're here!" Clarissa walked up to Alex and hugged her tightly.

"Are you okay?" Alex replied. Clarissa could only nod as she let go of Alex.

Alex turned around to face the detective with steely blue eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I'm detective Marks, you must be Alexandra Davenport." He said while he held out his hand to greet her. Alex didn't take the hand and took a step closer to the detective.

"I hope you guys are actually working on this case instead of running your mouths to every gossip column who wants a quick buck. This is about my girlfriend, not me, and she needs to be found as quickly as possible. Now I need to know _exactly_ what's going on."

Detective Marks nodded in agreement and remembered the stories of Alex's temper from the gossip mags. She had a couple of run ins with them a few years back and didn't want to make Alex anymore worried than she already was.

"I understand your concern, Ms. Davenport, we are trying our hardest to follow up on leads and we're taking this very seriously. I need to ask you a few questions regarding Ms. Johnson, is that ok?"

Alex nodded, slowly calming down. "Yeah, go ahead."

* * *

Around thirty minutes later Detective Marks received a call on his cell phone and he unclipped it from his waist to answer.

Alex and Clarissa watched him as he spoke, only releasing an "I see." And then ended the phone call. They both sat expectantly waiting for him to start talking as he sat down in front of them.

Alex's throat went dry when he looked at her and started to speak.

"Ms. Johnson is in the hospital."

"What?! Is she ok? I need to go!" Alex quickly got up and was stopped by the detective before she could leave.

"Let me finish here." He said. "It seems like the car she was in caused a pile up on the freeway. They also found the body of the man who took her, and he's dead. The truck she was in flipped over and they needed to take Jamie to the hospital."

Alex turned to look at Steven, both with recognition in their eyes. It was the same accident that caused them to divert to another road to get here. That seemed like hours ago and Alex just wanted to leave and be with Jamie.

Getting up, Alex's legs felt heavy as she crossed the living room and stood in front of the door. She looked out of the peep-hole as her shoulders fell in defeat. The lawn was filled with Paparazzi and today was not a day she wanted to deal with the lights and the yelling. She turned to look at Detective Marks as he walked up to her.

"It's okay. Come on." He said, before opening the door.

There were days when Alex wished she were the same unknown high school student from her past, and there were days when she loved what she did and who she was. Today however was a day where she just wanted to hide and pretend that everything was ok. She wanted to pretend that her world was perfect, but they all knew, she knew they could probably see right through her, inner demons and all.

"Wait! I want to go with you; she's my best friend." Clarissa said. She stood up and walked towards Alex and Steven.

Detective Marks went outside first and lead them down the walkway to his awaiting car. Flashes went off at lightning speed as they were led to the car. Alex was able to quickly get in the back seat and scooted over to allow her friends inside as well. Once the detective was able to secure himself into the driver seat he immediately took off. He looked in the rear view mirror at the passengers sitting in his back seat and shook his head.

"I don't know how you deal with all of that craziness everyday." He said as he looked towards Alex. Her blue eyes stared into his through the mirror and she remained quiet. She didn't feel like having any small talk, especially with a detective. She'd had a few run-ins with the police in the past and she knew what they thought about her. They thought she was a spoiled, stuck up celebrity who thought that she could get whatever she wanted. They never thought about the fact that she grew up in a normal household and worked hard as hell to get to where she was today.

"Can we just make it to the hospital, detective." She stated.

Detective Marks cleared his throat, "Sure, sorry."

* * *

Alex ran through the emergency hospital doors and towards the front desk. She didn't wait for her friends to follow, and definitely didn't wait for the detective. She was met by a woman sitting behind a computer who glanced at her over her glasses resting on her nose. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Oh my God you're-" the woman started to say but Alex quickly interrupted.

"I need to see Jamie Johnson!"

"Is she a patient?" The woman asked.

"Of course she's a patient! Are you completely incompetent or just-"

Steven quickly took hold of Alex's arm and slightly squeezed it.

"Jamie Johnson is a patient here that was just brought in, would you be able to look her up please." Steven finished. He glanced at Alex who's eyes were glazed over with unshed tears.

"It's going to be ok honey." He whispered to her.

"Ms. Johnson is currently in surgery on the fourth floor." The woman said, as she finished typing away on the computer.

"Come on guys." Clarissa said as she led them to the main hall of the hospital and to the elevators.

When they reached the fourth floor they headed directly to the front desk there, which was situated in the middle of the lobby. Alex walked ahead and was greeted right away by someone behind the desk.

"Hello Ms. Davenport, the ER told us you'd be coming up here, and I'd just like to let you know that Ms. Johnsons doctor will be right with you." The tech finished, blowing out a nervous breath.

Alex's arms were crossed in front of her as she continued to stare at the tech. "How long is it going to be?"

"We just called the operating room and he'll be right out."

She turned around to face her friends and the lobby. She didn't want to hear what this stranger had to say any longer. At that moment she saw Detective Marks leave the elevator and start to walk towards them.

"Any word?" he asked.

Alex shook her head. "They said the doctor would be right out to update me on Jamie's status."

"Listen, Alex, we're going to have to get a statement from Jamie so she can tell us exactly what occurred." Marks said, lowering his voice in the process.

Alex took a step closer to the detective, her arms still crossed in front of her. "How about you let me talk to my girlfriend first and then ask her whatever you need, seeing as the guy that took her is now dead."

Before Detective Marks could respond Alex walked away to the farthest corner of the room away from the prying eyes and ears of the other lobby inhabitants.

Steven walked up to the detective with a sorrowful look on his face. "She's not normally like this; I'm sure she appreciates everything you're doing."

"I understand. People act differently under these circumstances." Marks replied.

An hour had passed and Jamie's surgeon had finally come out to greet them. He walked up to Alex and immediately offered his hand. "Hi, Ms. Davenport I'm Doctor Lee, I just finished working on Ms. Johnson."

Alex shook his hand, "How is she?"

" Well, originally we couldn't identify her. She told the paramedics that her name was Alex, but I'm sure she was just asking for you. We were finally able to get her name when they brought her in; she was coherent enough to tell us who she was. She was also brought in handcuffed."

"Handcuffed? Oh God, what did he do to her?" Alex felt as if she were going to be sick and leaned onto Steven who was standing next to her.

"She wasn't raped, but she did have extensive injuries caused from the accident. I repaired a collapsed and punctured lung caused by a broken rib; most likely from the seat belt she was wearing. She also had internal bleeding in the abdomen, also caused by the seatbelt. I repaired all of those things and they've taken her to the ICU to be monitored for the next 24 hours."

"Can I see her?" Alex asked.

"Yes you can see her, but I have to warn you that she currently has a ventilator assisting her with breathing." Doctor Lee replied.

Alex breathed in deeply; a headache was starting to build behind her eyes. "Is she awake?"

Doctor Lee shook his head, "Not yet, but you can still see her, only one of you though."

Alex turned to look at Clarissa and Steven.

"Go ahead." Clarissa whispered.

"Go on." Steven replied.

"Alright, follow me, Ms. Davenport."

Alex followed the doctor through the large double doors down into a long hallway. There were sounds coming from every corner, and this area of the hospital seemed to be even colder than the rest of it. She fought off a chill that was ready to travel through her body as she walked behind the doctor. They finally reached a room, and she could see a body lying down in a bed through the room window.

"Is this…" she looked up at the doctor.

"Yes, go ahead, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Alex slowly passed the window and quietly walked into Jamie's room. She was afraid that if she made any sudden movements that it would somehow alter the way the machines were working and that there would be uncontrolled chaos. She looked at Jamie's body lying in the bed, unnaturally still. Jamie never slept like that; she always curled up against Alex or would take up half of the bed. The monitors did what they did best and pumped oxygen through Jamie's mouth via an intubation tube. There were small, cleaned cuts on her face from the shattered glass at the accident that Alex noticed right away.

Alex moved her eyes downward towards Jamie's arms and then to her hands. The handcuffs…they were gone, but her wrists were bandaged with gauze wrapped around each. Alex walked up to Jamie's bedside and looked down at the unconscious form of her girlfriend.

The tears that she had been fighting finally fell quickly, one by one down her face. "I'm here now, Jamie. I'm here." She held onto Jamie's hand as she stared down into her face, willing any sort of movement to occur.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry." Alex wiped away the tears that were starting to fall onto Jamie's bed.


End file.
